Ranma: Queer Metamorphosis
by ExceedinglyTrans
Summary: We're starting from the beginning, and this time, things are going to be a little different. Because they're all queer now - like almost every single one of them. There's going to be way too many relationships to properly tag them all.
1. Here's Ranma (Intro Arc, Part I)

If more subtle changes aren't your thing and you're familiar with the way Ranma starts, try skipping to the second arc, where the changes get much more pronounced! The first two chapters will be here if you want to come back later for them.

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Thap, thap, thap. The sound of feet slapping against concrete echoed in a regular rhythm as a young, dark-haired woman jogged down a suburban sidewalk in Japan. Her breath came out in short huffs, her long hair, tied with a ribbon halfway down, bobbing back and forth in time with each step. One of her hands grabbed for the small towel around her neck, dabbing at the sweat dripping down the side of her face.

A smile crossed her lips; she could see her destination just up ahead. The clouds above were looking heavy, but it seemed as though she'd manage to make it back before the rain began to pour.

The gates of her home loomed closer, and her eyes grazed over the sign that had hung next to them for as long as she could remember. In big, bold lettering were the words "Tendo Dojo", and beneath them, slightly smaller, "Anything-Goes Martial Arts."

Passing through the gate and then ducking into the currently empty dojo, the girl hurriedly threw her running shorts and top off, replacing them with a karategi. She kicked her sweat-drenched clothes into the corner of the room, then went back outside to set up some concrete blocks and wooden boards.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she began moving through a few basic kata, making an attempt to string them together as smoothly as she was able. Which... was not all that smoothly, to her continuing aggravation. But that made it all the more satisfying when she ended her performance with a shout, bringing her hand crashing down into the pile of boards and blocks and smashing them to pieces.

Letting loose a small, happy sigh, she wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "That was nice," she said, to no one in particular, her breathing still heavy.

"There you go again, Akane," said a voice from behind her, clearly Nabiki's. "No wonder the boys all think you're weird."

Glaring and turning to look at her older sister, Akane said, "So? Why should I care? Not everybody thinks the world revolves around boys." Crossing her arms, she muttered, "Especially not me."

Nabiki seemed unfazed. "Fair enough." She turned and began to walk away, hands behind her head. "I guess this whole 'fiancé business wouldn't interest you, then."

A loud rumble shook the air; the sky was dark. "Fiancé?" Akane said, baffled. "Nabiki, wait, what are you talking about?"

But the other girl was already gone, leaving Akane with little choice but to follow.

{}

"He's the son of a very good friend of mine," Akane's father, Soun, explained to his three daughters. The four family members were gathered around the living room table, and only one of them seemed pleased by the situation. "His name's Ranma Saotome, and if one of you three girls were to marry him and take over the dojo..." He smiled. "Well, then, the Tendo family legacy would be secure!"

"Wait just a minute!" Akane said, leaning forward and scowling. "Don't _we_ get some say in who we marry?

"Akane's right, father," said Kasumi, the eldest daughter, her brow furrowed slightly in worry, rather than anger. "We've never even _met_ this man, not to mention his son."

Nabiki, for her part, remained silent, doing little besides sipping on a drink.

"Heh heh, that's easily fixed!" Soun said, flapping a postcard he held in his left hand, which Akane only now noticed.

Nabiki reached out and took the postcard, read it over without a word, then passed it to Kasumi.

Soun continued. "Ranma and his father have been on a training journey for years now! Recently, it seems they've trekked all the way to _China_." He emphasized the last word as though it was supposed to be impressive.

The postcard made its way to Akane. The handwriting on it was sloppy and a bit difficult to read. ' **Hi. Bringing Ranma from China.** '

"Whatever," Akane said, tossing the card back to her father. "Any schmuck can go to China."

"Dad," Nabiki said, giving Soun a stern look. "We need more details. Age. Appearance. Personality. Financial state."

"Yes, father, just what sort of person _is_ this Ranma?" Kasumi said.

Deep, resounding laughter filled the room for a moment, Soun's only reply, at first. He stopped suddenly, face blank. "No idea."

" _No idea_?" Nabiki said, quirking an eyebrow.

"I've never met the boy," Soun admitted.

All three girls sighed. "Of course you haven't," Nabiki muttered.

The rage bubbling up within within Akane was reaching a boiling point. This was _beyond_ unfair, and she wasn't going to be a part of it. But before she could give her father a piece of her mind, a loud crash sounded from somewhere outside, near the entrance.

"Leggo, ya old fool!" shouted an unfamiliar voice. Sounds of a struggle echoed through the grounds.

"That must be them!" Soun said, leaping to his feet. Kasumi got to hers a moment after. The two of them hurried toward the entrance, Soun shouting, "Saotome, my friend! We've been waiting!"

The other two daughters got to their feet as well, though neither of them seemed interested in leaving the room. Akane was loath to meet the two men that had so suddenly forced their way into her life.

All too quickly, their father came running back, surprise and horror writ large upon his face. Kasumi walked swiftly behind him, equally shocked. And behind her, a massive, upright panda stomped down the walkway, a human slung over its shoulder. Akane's eyes went wide, her foot almost subconsciously moving back as she took on something of a fighting stance.

"You're scarin' 'em spitless, old man!" the unfamiliar human shouted, twisting and squirming on the panda's shoulder..

"F-father," Kasumi said, standing behind him and shaking. " _This_ is your friend?"

Beads of sweat dotting his face, Soun emphatically shook his head from side to side.

"Right, 'cause pandas drop by to visit all the time," Nabiki said, arms crossed. A stranger might have thought Nabiki was emotionally unaffected by the giant panda, but Akane knew from years of experience that her sister was simply masking shock and fear with forced nonchalance.

The panda stopped a short distance from the Tendos, gingerly placing the human it had been carrying on the ground in front of the group.

Soun and the newcomer stared at each other silently for a moment. Akane couldn't get a good look at the person's face, but the way they hid their eyes behind their bright red hair went a long way in signifying their discomfort.

"You... wouldn't happen to be..." Soun said.

"Ranma Saotome," the person mumbled, fingers fidgeting with their hair, which was tied in a braided pigtail. "Sorry 'bout this."

Soun's expression instantly flipped. Beaming, he clasped Ranma's shoulders. "You've come at last!"

"He's kinda cute," Nabiki said. still acting bored by the whole affair.

Pulling the nervous Ranma into a tight hug, Soun practically cried as he said, "It's _so_ good of you to come! _So goo_ -"

His face shifted again, smile evaporating. He pulled quickly away from Ranma, staring at their guest's chest.

Taking a few steps forward, Nabiki leaned over, eyes scanning over Ranma's whole upper body, which seemed to make Ranma very uncomfortable. Standing back up, Nabiki turned toward the rest of her family. "Yeah, pretty sure Ranma's a girl."

Once again Soun's reaction was immediate, not to mention dramatic. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face like waterfalls.

Kasumi sighed. "Father, please."

"Why do bad things happen to good people?" Soun sobbed.

"I'm sorry about this, Ranma. Please feel free to take a seat inside," the eldest daughter said, gesturing toward the main room.

Everyone, including the silent and currently docile panda, moved into that room, taking a seat around the table. After a fair bit of coaxing, Kasumi managed to move Soun into the room as well, though tears still poured down his face.

"So, Dad, good work on the 'fiancé' thing," Nabiki said with a smirk.

"Nabiki, please, leave him alone. You'll only make it worse," Kasumi said.

Akane, who was feeling much better about the situation despite its strange turn, said, "Yeah, c'mon, Nabiki! She's our guest!"

Not sparing her sisters a glance, Nabiki continued harassing her father. "You really should've made sure, you know."

"Well he said he had a _son_!" Soun shouted, still crying.

"I don't see any son in the room," Nabiki said, smirk widening.

 _Ranma shouldn't have to put up with this_ , Akane thought, getting to her feet. "Hey, walk with me?" she said softly to Ranma, with a small smile.

Though she seemed surprised, the red-headed girl smiled back and nodded. "Sure."

The two girls walked softly but swiftly from the room, a glance telling Akane that Kasumi was the only one to notice their departure.

"I'm sorry about... them," Akane said.

Ranma waved the apology away. "Don't worry 'bout it. I know I'm... not what you guys were expectin'."

Akane's expression darkened for a moment, before returning to a friendly smile. "None of us, besides our father, was expecting _any_ of this." They walked in silence for a moment, then she said, "I'm Akane, by the way! Do you... want to be friends?"

Once again, Ranma seemed surprised, yet pleased. "Oh, uh, yeah! Sure!"

The two of them came to a stop in the middle of the hallway. "You wanna head to the practice hall?" Akane said.

Ranma's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"

It didn't take them long to arrive, and though Akane offered to grab another karate gi, Ranma politely declined, apparently preferring to stay in her Chinese clothes.

"I fight in these all the time anyway," she explained.

Akane nodded. "So, you do Kenpo, right?"

"A little," Ranma said with a shrug.

"Great!" Akane said. "You want to spar a little?

"Sure!"

Akane grinned. "Just for fun, of course. No need to worry, I won't hurt you."

Though her eyebrows raised slightly, Ranma's only response was, "If you say so."

Taking a fighting stance, Akane was a little surprised to not see Ranma doing the same. Instead, the girl stood with her hands relaxed at her side, lightly tapping her own thighs every now and then. It was probably a lack of experience, Akane reasoned. "I'm gonna run at you, okay?"

Ranma nodded.

Her footsteps echoing in the open hall, Akane charged forward. "Sei!" she shouted, throwing a punch Ranma's way. To her surprise, the girl was no longer where Akane had aimed, apparently having leaped into the air above. That was unexpected, but Akane refused to let it phase her, immediately following her strike up with a high kick. Once again Ranma dodged, jutting her legs out to the side so that Akane's kick sailed beneath her.

Okay, maybe it _wasn't_ inexperience. Launching another punch and then a kick at her opponent, Akane began to grow frustrated as Ranma easily dodged them both.

"What's wrong?" Akane said, breathing heavy. "Swing at me!"

Going for quick strikes this time, Akane threw three punches at Ranma, yet none of them coming close to hitting. _Why!? Why am I missing her? Is she reading my moves, somehow?_

Preparing to strike, Akane grit her teeth and clenched her fists. Ranma was no amateur, that much was clear, and it was time Akane stopped pulling her punches. Charging forward as quickly as possible, Akane launched her fist at Ranma, every bit of her power and speed behind it. There was a loud "KRAK" as she punched through the wall of the dojo, the wood splintering around her arm.

A finger poked softly into the back of her head, and she turned, incredulous to see Ranma standing behind her. For a moment, she simply stared, and the redhead stared back. Then the other girl started giggling, and after a moment, Akane couldn't help but do the same. Pulling her arm out of the wall, she laughed and laughed, the tension in her mind and body melting away.

"You're, uh... pretty good," she said, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. Ranma didn't say anything, instead rubbing the back of her head and flashing a smile, her cheeks a light tint of red.

Akane sighed, moving a few steps away, still reeling at how easily she'd been beaten. "I'm just…" She paused. "I'm just glad you're a girl, you know?" She turned to look at Ranma. "I'd really hate to lose to a boy, so I'm glad Dad was wrong about that."

Ranma's smile faltered, no response forthcoming. Which was fair, the whole point of the sparring match was to get their mind off the whole awkward situation that had brought Ranma here.

"Hey, I'm going to head up to my room for a bit," Akane said. "Feel free to stay here if you want. ...Or whatever, really. You're our guest, so our house is your house."

The only response she received was a meek smile and nod.

{}

Akane stopped by the washroom first, to start filling the bath, then headed toward the stairs, asking Nabiki to let her know when the bath was filled all the way. Up in her room, she collapsed on her bed, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.

This whole thing was… well, it was a mess, and she still didn't completely understand what was going on. It seemed like that was true for just about everyone involved, though. And Ranma… she seemed nice. Skilled, too - far more skilled than Akane had imagined. But she didn't gloat about it, at least, and if she stuck around, maybe she could give Akane a few tips. It'd be nice to have another girl in the house that enjoyed martial arts, at least.

Her thoughts floated about in a similar sphere for a while longer, until she heard Nabiki yelling at her about the bath.

Gathering up a change of clothes, Akane made her way down to the washroom. She stopped when passing the living room, surprised to see some older man she didn't recognize sitting across from her father. Perhaps his _actual_ friend had arrived? Hopefully he hadn't brought a son with him. Regardless, Akane wanted to clean up before dealing with any of that, so after a quick look she hurried on her way.

Humming lightly to herself, she pushed open the laundry room door. The room was already warm from the heat of the room it connected to, which was pleasant to walk into. Akane pulled the ribbon out of her hair, then removed her karate gi, tossing it into the hamper. Setting her change of clothes to the side, she grabbed a small towel, set her hand on the side of the door to the washroom, and pushed it open.

Someone was already inside. For a split second, Akane thought she'd just walked in on Ranma, since the person was in the middle of braiding their hair into a pigtail. Except the hair was black. And the person was significantly taller than Ranma. And their chest… it was uncovered, and broad, and flat. Some small part of Akane registered relief over the fact that this strange man had a towel wrapped around his loins.

 _Shit_. Akane _didn't_ have anything wrapped around her lower half. She was holding a towel, which was partially covering her, but that was it. The strange man's eyes, wide as saucers, glanced down at Akane's bare chest for a moment before looking away, his cheeks reddening.

Akane closed the door.

Slowly, face blank, she pulled her change of clothes on - a one-piece nightgown. Then she calmly exited the laundry room, closing the door behind her. She stood in front of it, panic rising within her to extreme levels, despite her blank face.

Then it broke.

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Akane sprinted down the hallway, not stopping until she reached the grounds outside the living room. She glanced about, eyes focusing in on the stone lantern, which she grabbed the round top half of.

"Akane? What's going on? What're you doing?" Nabiki asked, leaning out of the living room and looking genuinely confused.

Eyes wide and pupils constricted, Akane shouted, ."I'm gonna kill him! Smash his head in!"

"Who are you talking about?" Kasumi said, coming to stand next to Nabiki and looking twice as worried.

Now screeching, Akane said, "There's a _pervert_ in the _bathroom_!"

"Why don't you just kill him with your bare hands?" Nabiki said, seemingly serious.

"Because I'm _afraid_!" Akane replied, a few tears forming in her eyes.

Kasumi, glancing back and forth between the hallway to the bathroom and her sister, said, "That's strange… I sent Ranma to the bath a while ago…" Her eyes widened, apparently catching something in the hallway.

Akane turned to look, still gripping the stone lantern. A man was walking toward them - the same man she'd just seen in the washroom, albeit clothed now.

"Who…?" Kasumi muttered.

"Who are _you_?" Nabiki said, pointing.

The guy looked deeply embarrassed, and had difficulty maintaining eye contact, seeming to prefer the floor instead. Rubbing the back of his head with one hand, he said, "I'm… Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

Akane dropped the stone lantern, which miraculously didn't crush her feet.

Ranma met her eyes, though it seemed to take him no small amount of effort to do so. "...Sorry 'bout this."


	2. Ranma's Secret (Intro Arc, Part II)

A few minutes after introducing himself to the Tendo sisters for the second time, Ranma found himself sitting next to his father, Genma, in the living room. The three Tendo women sat across from them, and Soun sat to the side.

Ranma really wished Akane would stop glaring at him. She hadn't stopped since he reintroduced himself, and his feelings about it were starting to shift from guilt to irritation. If she'd just give them a moment to explain…

"So!" Soun shouted, all heads turning toward him. For the first time, Ranma took a good look at the man his father called 'friend'. He looked a fair bit younger than Genma, but maybe it was just the long dark hair, compared to Genma's bald dome. He had a good moustache, too, and Ranma couldn't help but wonder if his own father might look better with one. Probably not.

"Let's try this whole thing again. _This_ ," Soun gestured toward Ranma's father, "is my dear old friend."

"Genma Saotome," the old man said, adjusting his glasses. Gesturing Ranma's way, he continued, "This is my son, Ranma."

Deciding to try out a small smile and wave, Ranma was annoyed to see it do nothing to soften Akane's glare.

"What's going on?" Nabiki said, eyes flashing back and forth between Ranma and Genma. Her eyes were cold and calculating, and the idea of being caught in her gaze was unpleasant. Still, she was an attractive girl, Ranma had to admit, always fashionably dressed and her brown hair cut in a short, cute style that seemed to really suit her.

"Are you really that same girl we met earlier?" Kasumi said, looking Ranma's way. She was pretty too, but in more of a 'mom' sort of way. Not that Ranma remembered his mother, but, at any rate, Kasumi seemed like a typical mom. Her long brown hair was tied midway down with a bow, which was actually pretty similar to Akane's hairstyle, Ranma belatedly realized.

A sigh sounded next to Ranma. "Yes! The panda you all met earlier was me, while the girl was…" Genma sighed again, deeper this time. "That was Ranma."

"That doesn't make any sense," Nabiki said, still looking back and forth between them. "The panda was big enough for it to be a suit you fit in or something, but Ranma here was _definitely_ shorter than he is now."

Another sigh. Then, suddenly, Ranma felt hands grip him, and he realized, far too late, what was about the happen.

Thrown by his father, Ranma sailed through the air and crashed into the pond a few yards behind the living room. The water was freezing, but Ranma was much more bothered by the tingling sensation that overtook his body for a moment. It happened every time Ranma transformed, and though the feeling itself wasn't unpleasant, Ranma's resentment at its implication caused him to hate the feeling itself as well.

Floundering around beneath the water, Ranma managed to right himself and push above the surface, eyes taking in the night sky above for a moment before his head dropped to glare daggers at the old man.

"The hell is your problem!?" Ranma yelled, his voice a pitch higher than before.

Each of the Tendos gasped, staring at Ranma with a mix of surprise and curiosity. Even Akane seemed to have shed her anger, at least for a moment. Though he expected it, Ranma still hated how their eyes roamed over his form, taking in his red hair, his more round face, his larger and much more round chest. The stares always felt so invasive, even though he knew that was rarely the intent.

"Oh, my own son!" Genma said, tears streaming down his face. "It pains me so much to see it… oh, the humiliation that I feel!"

"Hah, that _you_ feel!?" Ranma said, climbing back to dry land and stomping back to the living room. He sat down angrily, the feeling of damp clothes against his skin only heightening his rage. He sat notably farther from Genma this time.

"Father, have your friends _always_ been this way?" Kasumi said, glancing at Ranma with concern before looking to Soun.

"No!" he insisted. "Genma, at least, wasn't like this before." Soun turned his head toward the old man. "This is the fault of some horrific training exercise back in China, correct?"

"Indeed!" Genma proclaimed. "Only a few weeks ago, in fact. I shall tell you the story!"

Ugh. Ranma didn't want to hear this. But he had little choice but to sit there and relive one of the darkest days of his life.

{}

"Here, sir! Legendary 'Training Ground of Cursed Springs,'" the Chinese guide said, gesturing ahead.

The path Ranma and his father had been walking on opened up to a wide flat area, dotted with a multitude of small pools of water, presumably the springs the guide had mentioned. From each spring several bamboo poles rose up into the air. But aside from that, there wasn't much here.

"This place ain't that impressive," Ranma said, glancing at his father.

"You very strange one, sir," the guide said, also looking Genma's way. "This place _very_ dangerous. Nobody use now." Glancing at the pool again, Ranma wondered how in the world such a place could be considered 'dangerous.' As though reading his mind, the guide continued, "More than one hundred spring here, and each one have own tragic legend!"

Psh, was that all? A bunch of myths and legends? Fairy tales weren't going to spook Ranma. But they'd come all this way, so they might as well try it out.

Genma seemed to be of the same mind. He charged forward and leaped onto a bamboo pole, shouting for Ranma to follow

He did, though he was a little surprised to hear the guide yelling at them. "Sirs, what you doing!?

"I won't go easy on you," Genma said, paying the guide no mind and striking a combat stance.

Ranma smirked. "That's just how I want it."

The two martial artists leapt at each other, Ranma barely registering the guide's words as he shouted at them yet again. " _Please_ , sirs! _Very_ bad if you fall in spring!

Nimbly dodging Genma's downward strike, Ranma flipped above his father and gave him a firm kick, sending him crashing into the spring below. "Hah, gotcha!" he said, beaming, one foot finding purchase at the top of another bamboo pole.

Genma didn't come back up anywhere near as quickly as Ranma had expected. Were the springs a lot deeper than Ranma had figured? Had he kicked Genma hard enough to push him down deep? "Pop? Hey, what's up? You okay down there?"

To Ranma's utter shock, it was not a man that proceeded to leap from the water, but a giant panda. With an eerie grace, it jumped atop a bamboo pole, striking a familiar fighting stance.

Where the hell had Ranma's father gone!? He glanced back at the pool below, but saw nothing to insinuate anything else was down there. Turning his gaze back to the panda, he realized, with horror, that the animal had a gi stretched out on its back, and a pair of glasses hanging off one of its ears.

"Wh- wha- what the-?" Ranma said, unable to do anything but stare.

"That was 'Spring of Drowned Panda!'" the guide said from below. "There is very tragic legend of panda who drown there two thousand year ago!"

Head and eyes jerking toward the guide, Ranma tried to piece together what was going on. It seemed straightforward, except for the fact that it made utterly no sense. Curses weren't, like, actual things that could affect people, right? They were just superstitions! And yet…

"Whoever fall in that spring now take body of panda!" the guide said, as though Ranma hadn't clearly seen what had just happened.

A sound caused Ranma to twitch his head back toward the panda, which he belatedly noticed had leapt toward him. Ranma was no expert on panda emotions, but this one looked _pissed_. But why!? He hadn't known!

Barely managing to jump out of the way, Ranma shouted, "Wait! W-wait a sec, Pop! You never said nothin' 'bout this curse thing bein' real!"

Genma, assuming he was still mentally in control, didn't seem to be listening. The panda leapt back toward Ranma as soon as it could, attacking in a frenzy that Ranma couldn't understand, and was not prepared to handle, with his mind still reeling like it was.

All it took was one failed dodge for the panda to get a good grip on him, at which point it hurled a screaming Ranma toward another spring.

"Oh no, 'Spring of Drowned Girl!'" he heard the guide yell, right before he crashed face-first into the water.

The first thing Ranma's body registered was the intense cold of the water his skin had just come into contact with - it was like being dunked in a bucket of ice, except the ice was liquid and going up his nose. The second thing was a strange tingling feeling throughout his whole body, inside and outside. It began in his chest and spread like wildfire through the rest of him, even as 'the rest of him' shifted in ways his mind couldn't yet wrap itself around. It was a dull feeling, not painful, yet also all-encompassing, and altogether foreign.

Air. He needed air. Though the water stung his eyes, he forced them open, jerking his head this way and that until he found the light above. Clawing his way upwards, he managed to break the surface after a few agonizing seconds, immediately sucking in as much air as his lungs would allow.

Initial crisis averted, his mind turned to the body he could feel was different, even if he wasn't yet sure how. His hand looked more or less the same, maybe a little smaller, but it was definitely human. _Spring of Drowned Girl_. The words the guide had spoken came rushing back to him, and his breath hitched for a moment. Tearing open the front of his gi, he was horrified to discover his once flat chest now had two big mounds of fatty flesh on it.

 _No, no, no… This can't… I can't… Pop will_ _ **hate**_ _this._ Ranma thought, eyes still upon his new breasts. Not that his father was the only one, he reminded himself a few moments later. He hated this too, of course; what self-respecting boy would want to be a friggin' _girl_!?

It was all so vivid in Ranma's mind, and he hated it. To think that he, a proud man and proud martial artist, had been reduced to… to a _woman_. It was disgraceful! Though, as time had passed, he had found himself feeling grateful that he'd fallen in the 'Drowned Girl' spring, rather than one of the animal ones, like his father. Better to be a human, right? And, you know, if he _had_ to be a girl, at least he was a pretty one. Things could be worse, even if they were still bad, was all he meant.

"The legendary Ground of Cursed Springs…" Soun said, shaking his head, expression sombre. "Its true horror has always been shrouded in mystery, until now…"

"Hah!" Ranma scoffed, glaring at his dad. "'True horror.' It was a load 'a crap, that's what it was! What was the idea, dragging us to that awful place, Pop?" This was far from the first time he'd asked, but he hoped that this time, when asked in front of a group of people, his father would finally cave.

He didn't. "You sound like a woman!" Genma declared, glaring right back. "Were you not prepared to give your life for the sake of training!?"

Ranma had heard it before, and he was sick of listening. If his father wasn't going to say anything, it might as well be because he was physically unable.

Getting quietly to his feet, Ranma walked to stand behind Genma. The old man seemed to be too busy shaking his head in disgust to be concerned about this. Which was unfortunate for him, since the next thing Ranma did was squeeze out some of his soggy shirt right onto the jerk's neck.

Enraged, the dad-turned-panda swiveled around and threw a punch at Ranma, who easily blocked it and threw his own punch. It quickly devolved into a slap fight, as the two mighty martial artists hit at each other's arms like rowdy children.

"Mr. Saotome!" Kasumi chided, grabbing one big, furry arm. "That is no way to treat your child!"

Genma gestured at Ranma, in a clear 'he started it' sort of way, which didn't seem to impress Kasumi.

"You went too far, Mr. Saotome," Nabiki said, standing nearby with her arms crossed. "Even for martial arts training, that was a stupid risk."

"It was _far_ too dangerous!" Kasumi said with a nod. "What ever made you choose to do something so reckless?"

The panda reached into his stretched gi and tossed a paper book to the ground. Nabiki picked it up, giving it a once over while Kasumi looked on.

"Is it about the training grounds?" Kasumi said.

Nabiki nodded. "Yeah, I think so. It's in Chinese." She flipped it open. "It's a map, and a guide, I think?"

With a small sigh, Kasumi turned her gaze back toward Genma. "You can't read Chinese, can you?"

The panda shook his head back and forth, as Ranma punched him hard in the shoulder. _That_ was the damn reason!?

Soun appeared next to them, which Ranma only barely processed before the man began dumping a boiling pot of water on the panda's head. Genma shifted back to his human form, yelping and screaming and moving a good few feet away from the cause of his pain.

"So, when doused with hot water, you return to human form," Soun said, looking proud about his assertion.

Rubbing his head, Genma glared. "It needn't be _that_ hot."

Sidling up to Ranma this time, Soun continued, "So, when doused with cold water, you become a girl." He gestured at Ranma's current body. Ranma had almost forgotten he was still in 'girl-mode', as he referred to it. "But hot water turns you back into a boy!" The Tendo patriarch jerked his arm forward, attempting to catch Ranma with the boiling water, which Ranma only narrowly managed to avoid.

" _Hot_ water! Not _boiling_!" Ranma said, waving his hands in front of himself.

Soun set the kettle down, then moved close to Ranma again, pulling him into a side hug of sorts. "This little problem of yours isn't so terrible afterall!" Soun said with a grin. Who the hell was _he_ to decide that? But before Ranma could respond, Soun spoke again. "My daughter Kasumi, age nineteen. Nabiki, eighteen. And Akane, seventeen." He gestured at each girl as he spoke. "Pick the one you want, and she's your fiancée!"

Ranma gaped. Genma had mentioned that this whole fiancée thing was the reason they were coming here, and Ranma hated it. But he hadn't expected Mr. Tendo to tell Ranma to pick, like he was choosing meat at a deli. "Uh, I… um…"

Kasumi shook her head. "I'm sorry Ranma, and father, but I'm just not interested in being with someone." Belatedly, she added, "Right now."

Nabiki jerked a thumb towards Akane. "Don't even worry about it, sis, Akane's the one for him!"

The youngest Tendo sister, who had been quiet and not glaring for quite some time, seemed shocked by the suggestion. This shock quickly turned to anger. "You've got to be joking! Why would I be-"

"Well you hate boys, right?" Nabiki said.

Akane faltered. "I-I mean, yes, but…"

Nabiki gestured toward Ranma, smiling mischievously. "Well you're in luck, 'cause this guy is _half-girl_!"

"Hey!" Ranma said.

"I'm not gonna marry some _pervert_!" Akane insisted, not even looking Ranma's direction.

 _The hell?_ Ranma leaped to his feet. "Whaddya mean ' _pervert_ '!?"

Akane turned toward him so quickly that her long hair flipped over her shoulder. "You stared at my naked chest, you creep!"

Though he felt his cheeks heat up a little, Ranma was unsure whether it was embarrassment or anger that was the cause. Probably both. "Hold it! _You_ were the one that walked in on _me_! And _you_ took a pretty good look, too!"

Waving a hand dismissively, Akane said, "That's different! I was trying to figure out who you were, and you didn't have anything on your chest at the time, anyway!"

A few feet away, the two fathers laughed amongst each other. "They're already a perfect couple!" Soun proclaimed.

Jerking her head to face them, a few angry tears in her eyes, Akane said, "He's a freaking couple by _himself_!"

That was it. Ranma didn't have to take this crap. Swiveling around, he marched toward the hallway. "Buh-bye!"

"Where do you think you're going, boy?" Genma said with a small growl.

"Back to China!" Ranma insisted. "I'm finding a way back over there, and then I'm finding a cure. This is no time for crap like 'fiancées!'"

He stopped, glancing back at Akane. She seemed surprised, but still upset, and her eyes narrowed when they met his.

" _Couple by himself,"_ Ranma thought, glaring right back. He felt rage boiling within, and though he knew he shouldn't, he couldn't help but let some of it out. "You know, _Akane_ ," he said, practically spitting her name. "It's no big deal for me to see a girl's body. I mean, I've seen _this_ one loads of times," he said, gesturing at himself. Then a wicked grin emerged on his face. "Besides, I may be flat-chested in my other form, but in _this_ one? After seeing us both naked, it's pretty clear _I've_ got the better body."

He turned and started walking away, laughing loudly. Part of him really wanted to see the look on her face, but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction.

There was a whooshing sound in the air, which the distracted Ranma barely noticed. But he definitely _did_ notice the great weight that smashed into him from above, slamming him into the floor and knocking him out cold.

{}

When Ranma awoke, the first thing she noticed was the soft pillow her face was pressed into. Jerking her head upwards and glancing around, she found that the only person still in the room was Akane's oldest sister.

"Ah, you're awake!" Kasumi said, smiling sweetly at the still bleary-eyed Ranma.

A dull ache in the back of his head finally registered to Ranma's senses. Clamping a hand to it, he grimaced, muttering, "Owww…"

"Are you okay?" Kasumi asked, leaning over him a little.

Sitting up slowly, Ranma said, "Yeah, think I'm fine..."

"Good," Kasumi said with a smile. She had one of the warmest, most heartwarming smiles Ranma had ever encountered, though admittedly his life up to this point hadn't exactly been brimming with kind smiles.

"What… what happened?" Ranma said, glancing about the room.

Kasumi sighed. "Akane hit you with the table."

Ranma's eyes went wide. "The _whole table_?"

Giving a small nod, Kasumi said, "Yes. But don't think too badly of her. She's really a very sweet girl, despite sometimes being a violent maniac."

Ranma blinked. That didn't make sense.

"Besides," Kasumi said, her smile waning, "you were very rude to her. She should have handled it less violently, but it was also quite out of line for you to talk to her that way."

Heart sinking, Ranma found himself wishing that Kasumi looked more angry when she said that. Instead, she still seemed warm, overall, but with a small touch of disappointment. It was difficult to bear.

"I - I'm sorry," he said meekly.

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Kasumi replied, getting to her feet. She offered a hand, and though he didn't need it, Ranma took it and stood.

"Thanks," he said, hoping she knew that he meant it for more than just the help in standing.

Her smile returned, immediately easing his heart. "You're very welcome." Bowing, she said, "If you'll excuse me," and exited the room.

Letting out a long, heavy sigh, Ranma rubbed the back of his head a little more. What now? It was late, so he should probably just go to bed, but he knew his dad would complain if he went to bed looking like he did. And thus, with reluctance, he headed toward the washroom.

 _What kinda girl is that Akane, anyway? ...She's not half bad at fighting, and she can use a damn table as a weapon…_ His mind flashed back to earlier,when they had first met. She'd been so much nicer then. _"Friends", she said. But so much for that when she found out I'm a boy. It's not like I meant to lie to her… It's just... hard to talk about._

Reaching the laundry room, he wasted no time in tossing his still moist clothes into the hamper. _Well, whatever, who wants to be friends with a jerk like that anyway?_

Sliding the door to the washroom open, he froze when he realized someone was standing directly in front of him.

Akane. Naked.

Clamping his eyes shut, Ranma slammed the door closed, then turned to walk away. But with his mind so frazzled, he started walking without opening his eyes, and ended up crashing into the hamper. Balance lost, he tumbled to the floor, the hamper going with him and scattering its contents on both his naked body and the floor. Judging by the dampness, it was one of his own articles of clothing that had fallen onto his face.

The sound of the washroom door sliding open met his ears, followed by a few soft footsteps. The damp garment on his face was lifted, and when he opened his eyes, he found that Akane was standing over him, a towel wrapped around her body.

"You okay?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

Not wanting to give her another reason to be upset, Ranma averted his eyes. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"Good," Akane said, releasing the shirt and letting it plop back onto Ranma's face.

The sound of her footsteps started up again and then receded, presumably as she walked away. Ranma sighed, still lying on the ground.

 _Why's life gotta be so difficult?_

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Just to reassure y'all that I won't simply be writing a novel version of the manga with slight changes, I can promise that there will be BIG changes as we continue. Some characters are different, some are introduced sooner, and some are just gone! The same goes for the arcs! So trust me, y'all are in for a long, wild ride.

Next time: Kuno!


	3. Not a Lesbian (Kuno Strikes!, Part I)

_It's time for Kuno!_

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"School?" Ranma said, not bothering to mask his irritation. It was early morning, a day or two after Ranma and his father had arrived at the Tendo Dojo and, after their regular sparring match, Genma sat him down to talk.

Nodding sagely, Genma said. "We _are_ going to be staying here awhile. It only makes sense."

"It's the same school Akane and I go to!" Nabiki said, passing by the main room where the two of them were chatting. "We'll see you there!"

The sound of footsteps running down the hallway reached Ranma's ears. "Nabiki, wait, I'll go with you!" Akane said, gripping a school bag.

Nabiki crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "What're you talking about? Ranma's your _fiancé_ , remember? You should walk _him_ to school!"

Utter silence. Ranma and Akane both stared at Nabiki, wide-eyed. She was joking, right? But her face seemed deadly serious. After a good half a minute, Nabiki stuck her tongue out and smirked. "See ya!"

She left without another word, while Akane and Ranma slowly turned their heads to look at one another. Neither spoke, and neither looked happy.

The reluctant couple walked silently to school, Ranma on the river railing, Akane on the sidewalk. Around five minutes minutes passed without a shared glance.

It was Akane that spoke first. "We're not friends, you know."

"Yeah, ya made that clear," Ranma said, hands in his pockets. _Wouldn't wanna be friends with a boy , afterall._

He heard a small sigh from beside him. "I just mean that I don't want you hanging around me at school."

 _Oh, is that all?_ Sneering, he said, "Don't worry, I can't _stand_ macho chicks like you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ranma saw a school bag racing toward him. He dodged, making a show of just how easy he found it to be. "Hah, _so_ violent, but ya can't even _touch_ me 'less my back's turned!"

Growling, Akane swiped at him again, which he avoided. Leaping to the ground, he smirked at her, hands behind his head. "Look, I'll even take away the height advantage, and I bet you _still_ won't be able to do it!"

But boy did she try. Again and again she swung at him, and again and again he dodged, breaking out into laughter halfway through.

He was so wholly focused on mocking Akane that he didn't notice the little old lady watering her plants nearby. At least, not until he stepped right into the path of her ladle, receiving a cold splash of water to the face for his carelessness.

"Something wrong?" Akane said, eyebrows raised and eyes on Ranma's bright red hair. Her arms relaxed, slowly lowering the bag she'd been using as a weapon.

A shiver shot up Ranma's spine, as he pulled at the soaked fabric that clung to his skin. Even wet, the clothes were baggier now, in this smaller form. He sighed, turning around.

"I'm heading home."

"You'll be late," Akane said with exasperation.

Ranma stopped, turning his head to shoot a glare her way. "You think I wanna start school looking like _this_?"

Akane shrugged. "Would it be _that_ bad?"

Turning his head away from her again, Ranma glared at nothing in particular. Of _course_ it would! ...Probably. Of course, they'd find out about the curse anyway, right? Ranma shook his head. There was no point thinking about this.

"I'm going," he said, taking a step forward.

Fingers pushed against his shoulder, prompting him to stop. "If we just pour some hot water on you, you'll turn back, right? There's a clinic just up ahead, I'm sure they could help."

Reluctantly, Ranma turned to face her. The anger on her face from before was gone, replaced with something… softer, almost caring, despite the hint of irritation that was still there.

Ranma frowned, unsure how else to handle the complicated emotions warring in his brain. "I guess… but _you_ talk to 'em. I don't want 'em to see me like this."

Akane waved a hand. "Fine, fine."

Just like she'd said, the clinic wasn't far. It was a quaint little place, seemingly the bottom floor of a larger building. There was a big sign out front that said "Osteopathic Clinic", with another corner sign that said "Acupuncture" on one side and "Chiropractor" on the other. Ranma leaned against the "Acupuncture" side.

 _Hoo boy, whatta way to start the day...Least it couldn't get any wo-_

A skeletal hand fell lightly onto Ranma's shoulder with a soft 'klack.' Automatically, he leaped upward, leaving his shoes behind, hands grasping desperately at the top of the sign. Turning his head, he found behind him a person dressed in black and wearing glasses - and also holding a complete human skeleton.

"Oh, pardon me!" the person said, their voice soft and friendly. Their dark hair was kept in a short ponytail; Ranma guessed it'd be around shoulder-length if it was let down. Based on the cleavage Ranma could easily see from his current vantage point, the person was a woman.

"Nothing to worry about, dear! This is just Betty, my skeleton!" She brought the skeleton up near her own face, pressing it against her cheek as though that were in any way comforting.

Still, Ranma didn't sense any particular malice from whoever the heck this was, so he returned to the ground and slipped his shoes back on.

Akane's voice came from around the corner. "Ranma, I've got the hot-" She stopped as she came into view, a kettle in her hands. "Oh, Dr. Tofu!" Walking a few more paces forward, she bowed, forcing Ranma to do so as well by pressing the kettle against the top of his head. "G-good morning!"

"Good morning to _you_!" Dr. Tofu said with a smile. She bowed, as did "Betty."

Kettle still on his head, Ranma glanced at Akane. The meek, almost embarrassed expression she wore now was in stark contrast to any that Ranma had seen her wear before.

"You haven't been by lately," Dr. Tofu said, still all smiles. "No new injuries?"

"No!" Akane said hurriedly, only able to meet the doctor's eyes for a moment. "I mean, I… I haven't been doing anything lately that would…"

Slipping silently around the corner, Ranma poured the steaming water on himself, wincing slightly.

 _Interesting_.

{}

"So, Dr. Tofu," Ranma said, racing down the sidewalk next to Akane, the pair trying to avoid being late for school.

"Yeah, what about her?" said Akane.

"What's her deal?"

Though she seemed confused by the question, Akane's reply was quick. "She's the local chiropractor, and an excellent doctor besides."

Ranma looked her way. "Talented martial artist too, huh?"

Eyes widening, Akane said. "Um, yes, she is! ...How could you tell?"

 _Feh, sneaking up on me like that? She erased all trace of her presence. Normal people can't do that._

"A martial artist can just tell," he said, looking away again.

There was no argument. "Well you're right, she's really good. Though you wouldn't guess it, just looking at her." Akane's voice grew softer. "Ever since I was little, she's taken care of me when I was hurt."

Both of Ranma's eyebrows raised, a smirk appearing on his face. "Wait, so… are you, like… a lesbo?"

Immediately, Akane took a swipe at him with her bag, which he nimbly dodged. She scowled, her cheeks flushing slightly. "No! I'm not- how _dare_ you!?"

Still smirking, Ranma shrugged. "I mean, your sisters _did_ mention that you hate boys."

"I just haven't met any _good_ ones yet!" Akane shouted, almost taking another swipe but seeming to think better of it partway through. "And _you're_ not doing anything to change that."

"Hah, like I care what _you_ think," Ranma said, rolling his eyes.

Up ahead, the gates to Furinkan High School loomed. The big clock three quarters of the way to the top of the school entrance indicated they were still a bit early, despite their diversion.

" _Akane Tendo_!" shouted an unfamiliar voice.

They both came to an abrupt stop. A few meters ahead of them stood a tall person, holding a rose and a bokken, and wearing a kendogi. Their dark brown hair was short and poofy in the front, with a long ponytail to the side. Their lips were bright red, presumably via makeup.

"Might you fight with me, that I may prove to you my worthiness?" the strange girl said, flicking the rose toward Akane, then grasping the bokken with both hands.

The rose fluttered delicately into Akane's hand. She looked unimpressed. "No, Upperclassman, not today."

Ranma leaned in to mutter in Akane's ear. "Who's that, and what's up with the rose, Miss Not-a-Lesbo?"

" _Shut up_ and stay out of the way," Akane whispered back, shooting Ranma a glare.

"You there!" said the upperclassman, pointing her bokken at Ranma. "You are acting _quite familiar_ with Akane!"

Nudging her, Ranma said, "Hey, tell her, Akane. ...Akane?"

There seemed to be something incredibly interesting to Akane's right that Ranma couldn't see. "Tell her _what_?"

"Who _are_ you, boor!?" the upperclassman shouted, anger overtaking her face. "Ah! But it is the custom to give one's _own_ name first! Fine, then! _Mine_ I shall give!"

There was silence. Ranma glanced about awkwardly. "Uh… sure, if you want…"

" _My_ name," the upperclassman began, speaking as though she were beginning a dramatic tale, "is Kodachi Kuno. Senior, Class E. Captain of the Kendo Club. Undefeated new star of the high school kendo world. But my peers, they call me…" She paused, presumably for dramatic tension. "The _Black Thunder_ of Furinkan High."

Ranma glanced at Akane, who was still stubbornly avoiding eye contact. "Um, okay… Well, I'm Ranma Saotome, and I'm staying at the Tendo Dojo-"

"WHAT!?" Kodachi charged without warning, swiping swiftly at Ranma, who flipped out of the way. "Under the _same roof_ as Akane!?"

"Well yeah," Ranma said, still soaring through the air. "I'm heir to the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, and-"

Kuno swung again. "You cur!"

Dodging, even in midair, was simple for someone as skilled as Ranma. "Here, hold my bag a sec," Ranma said, tossing said bag to a surprised Akane. "Look, you're a girl, so I'm not gonna fight ya. But I can dodge all day if that's really what ya wanna do."

"Wait, Ranma, stop," Akane said, gripping Ranma's bag. When she didn't receive a response, she turned to Kuno. "He's just _staying_ with us, it doesn't _mean_ anything."

Ranma shrugged. "She's right. I don't care a bit about that stubborn, violent chick, so if you want her, you can _have_ her."

This only served to enrage Kuno further. "Speaking ill of Akane!? I forbid it!" She charged and swung again, Ranma dodging to the side.

"You're never gonna hit me," he said, chuckling. Kuno glared, lunging at Ranma with several quick strikes.

"HEY!" a voice called out from the doorway to the school. It was an adult Ranma didn't recognize, presumably one of the teachers, or the principal or something. "No fighting on school grounds! And get inside, class is about to start!"

Loud laughter, like that of a crowd, broke out. Ranma glanced up at the school, only now noticing that what seemed like the entire student body was looking down at him and Kuno from the windows above.

Tossing Ranma's bag back to him, Akane sighed. "Idiots." Then she turned and marched into the building. A moment later, Ranma and Kuno reluctantly followed suit.

{}

At lunch time, Ranma went right for Akane, ignoring her glares.

"I told you we're not friends."

"I know, I know," he said, sitting nearby. Two other girls sat with Akane, and they both looked surprised to see him. They had brown hair, but for one of them it was longer, a bit below shoulder length, and for the other it was cut well above the shoulders. The one with shorter hair also had bangs, which she was rocking, admittedly. He immediately chastised himself for the thought.

"This that Ranma guy you were telling us about?" the one with bangs said.

Akane sighed. "Yeah, this is him. Ranma, Yuka. Yuka, Ranma."

"And I'm Sayuri," the other girl said with a smile.

Giving a small, insincere grin, and a smaller wave, Ranma turned his attention back to Akane. "So seriously, what's up with Kuno?"

"I do _not_ want to talk about this right now," Akane said, opening her homemade bento box.

"I do!" Yuka said with a smirk. When all she got from Akane was a shrug, she turned her gaze to Ranma. "Kuno's head-over-heels for Akane, and decided that if she can defeat Akane in combat, that'll somehow prove she's worthy of Akane's love."

Hitting his fist lightly against the palm of his hand, Ranma said, "So she _is_ a lesbian! I knew it!"

Yuka and Sayuri both laughed.

"What clued you in first? The jealousy, or the rose?" Yuka said.

Ranma waved a hand. "I meant Akane."

He immediately received a strong flick to his forehead.

" _Stop saying that_ ," Akane muttered, staring at her food instead of him. Ranma couldn't help but notice a strange look pass between her two friends.

Leaning in toward Akane, he said, "Hey, so, you ever fought her?"

Sayuri nodded. "She has! A couple of times. Kuno's never won."

"I don't understand why," said Akane, actually meeting Ranma's eyes, confused and irritated. "I've seen her practice with the kendo club. She's good. But she's never gotten close to beating me."

Pointing a finger toward Akane's nose, Ranma said, "I mean, if she likes you, it makes sense that she wouldn't fight as hard as she usually would."

"But she _wants_ to beat me!" said Akane.

"Still," Ranma said, shrugging. After a beat, he added, "Why don't you just date the crazy chick and get it over with? Then she'll stop bothering you, even if you break up, right?"

Akane glared. "One, that's a _terrible_ reason to date someone, and two, I'm _not_ a freaking _lesbian_!"

Again, Ranma caught Yuka and Sayuri sharing a glance.

"Hey, but, what's with that "Black Thunder" thing?" Ranma said, giving Akane a break and directing the question toward Sayuri.

She shrugged. "Dunno, I've never heard that name before."

" _Never_ , Ranma Saotome!" shouted a loud, booming voice, one Ranma was already irritatingly familiar with. Kuno had entered the room, and was shouting at Ranma from the doorway.

Quickly getting to his feet, Ranma sighed and crossed his arms. "What is it now, _Upperclassman_?"

Jutting a finger Ranma's way, Kuno shouted, "I shall _never_ accept your engagement to Akane!"

Ranma's eyes went wide, just as the whole room, minus Kuno, Akane, and himself, took a collective gasp.

" _Engagement_!?" Yuka said. Sayuri's mouth was a perfect circle.

"And you said you despised men!" shouted another girl in the classroom, laughing.

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor pierced Ranma's ears as Akane bolted to her feet. "W-wait! It's not true! Who told you that!?"

"None other than Nabiki Tendo!" Kuno declared.

This seemed to put Akane at a loss for words.

"Look, our parents decided!" Ranma said, cheeks red. "We never-!"

Dodging quickly to the left, Ranma barely avoided Kuno's charging attack. There was a loud 'krak!' as her practice sword hit the wall so hard that the concrete buckled.

 _Damn. I don't think even a_ _ **teacher**_ _is gonna stop her right now._

Running for the exit into the hallway, Ranma called out, "This is no place for a fight! Follow me!"

"That I shall!" Kuno cried, giving chase.

Passing a few classrooms and an angry teacher that futilely told them not to run in the hall, Ranma spied an open window and went right for it.

"Let's take this outside!" he said, launching himself through.

Kuno didn't hesitate in following.

"Ranma!" Akane called from down the hallway. "This is the _third floor_!"

As the two students began to fall, Ranma smiled. Being on the third floor was no big deal. He'd fallen from much greater heights without a scratch. He was a great martial artist, afterall!

Looking down, he felt his heart suddenly plummet a hundred times quicker than the rest of his body. Below him was a swimming pool, full of shimmering, undoubtedly cold water.

Up above, Ranma heard someone say, "Boy, they're sure lucky there's a pool down there!"

" _Lucky_ ," Ranma muttered, right before his body hit the water.

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This was a cautionary tale; look before you leap, kiddos.


	4. I Love You (Kuno Strikes!, Part II)

The first unpleasant feeling was the slap against Ranma's skin as he slammed into the water's surface. The second was the bone-chilling sensation of the water enveloping his body, which was immediately followed by the third and worst feeling - the tingle throughout his body as the curse morphed it into a feminine form.

This was bad. This was _very_ bad. The whole school, or at least the whole class, was watching. He knew it was almost inevitable that his secret would come out, but he'd hoped it wouldn't have to be so soon. Already, though, his lungs were beginning to burn. He couldn't stay under the water much longer.

A shadow passed overhead; Ranma looked up to see Kuno floating at the pool's surface, face-down and apparently unconscious. Couldn't people drown like that? He was pretty sure he'd heard that somewhere. Regardless, he knew he shouldn't leave her… he could get her out of the water, at least.

Pushing up beneath the unconscious 'new star of the high school kendo world,' Ranma poked his head above water, realizing in that moment that carrying Kuno also served as decent cover from the onlookers above.

Kodachi's breath near Ranma's ear hitched for a half a second, followed by a small vocal noise. Crap, was she waking up? The edge of the pool was so close, if Ranma could just- But Kodachi began to stir, her arms lowering into the water at Ranma's sides.

"Ranma Saotome..." she said, her normal bravado slightly dampened. "I-" Her arms wrapped around Ranma, one hand coming to rest on his breast. "I fight on!" She squeezed her arms and hand, presumably trying to grapple, but also copping an uncomfortable feel.

"Wha-?" she muttered, her grip loosening suddenly.

"THAT HURT!" Ranma shouted, his hands moving up to grasp the back and top of Kodachi's head. He flung her over his shoulder, smashing her body into the concrete lining the pool. Then he leapt out of the water, using Kuno's stomach as a makeshift bounce pad to fly higher into the air, managing to get up and over the fence that lay between the pool and the school grounds.

There were 'oohs' and other noises from the students, but Ranma couldn't make out words, and had no intention of stopping to listen. He sprinted away as quick as his feet could carry him, not stopping until the sound of their squacking was completely inaudible.

A shiver shot up his spine. There was a light breeze, which was pretty much the worst thing when one was sopping wet and in clingy, baggy clothes. He had to squeeze some of this stupid water out or he was gonna die of hypo-therma-whatzit.

Climbing a nearby tree, he took refuge on a strong-looking branch and started pulling his pants off. A hand floated over to his chest, lightly grasping his recently-assaulted boob. It was still sore from how hard Kuno had grabbed it. _What a jerk! And a perv._ He sighed. _I guess she knows my secret now…. No one seems to like her much, though, so maybe they won't believe her if she says something? I might be able to keep this under wraps for a little bit longer…_

Just as he got the second pant leg off, a voice called out, causing him to jump and nearly fall from the tree.

"Excuse me!" Kuno had already caught up with him, and was looking up at his perch from a few meters away. A voice in the back of his head reminded him that he was pantsless, prompting him to hastily cover his bare legs with the soaked pants.

"What'a'ya want?" Ranma shouted, glaring.

Kuno moved a bit closer, her eyes staying on Ranma's, rather than drifting lower. "You are the person that was in the pool just now, yes?"

Ranma grit his teeth. There was little point in denying it. "...Yeah, that was me."

Clapping her hands together and bowing, Kuno said, "My apologies, dear woman, for my unintended groping of your person! I mistook you for someone else, but 'tis no excuse for such reprehensible action! I humbly beg your forgiveness!"

Blinking in surprise, Ranma lowered his arms, mind not focused on covering his legs anymore. _She doesn't realize…?_ "I, uh… thanks. 'Pology accepted."

A smile overtook Kuno's face for a moment before quickly fading. "While I am here, might I ask - did you see where that black-haired boy, with a pigtail much like yours, ran off to?"

Ranma shook his head from side to side.

Scowling, one of her hands balling into a fist, Kuno said, "That coward - running away in the middle of a fight!"

Ranma's eyes narrowed.

"No doubt he feared my prowess!" she continued, shouting to the heavens. "Bah, he is no man! He is no _woman_! He is but a scared _child_!"

Damp pants smacked into Kuno's face, then fell to the ground in a heap. Ranma leaped down from the tree, striking a ready position as soon as his feet hit earth.

Kodachi blinked. "That was quite rude. I thought you accepted my apology."

"You thought I was gonna sit there and take that!?" Ranma said, gritting his teeth and shouting. "I can kick your butt any time, any place! Bring it on!"

Utterly surprised, Kuno said, "You… you wish to fight me?"

"Exactly! Let's hurry up and do this!"

Surprise shifting into amusement, Kodachi brought her bokken up and let it rest on her shoulder. "Interesting. So you, too, wish to prove your love!" Ranma grimaced. "Well, I will allow you the chance! I shall fight you, and if you are able to best me, I shall grant you a date!"

As the final word left her mouth, Kuno swung her sword, which Ranma dodged with a leap. "I didn't say a _damn_ thing about a date!" He kicked his foot out, smashing it into Kuno's face, instantly knocking her to the ground. Once his feet touched earth again, he flipped Kuno's sword into the air, grabbed it, and pointed it at her shocked face.

"And Ranma Saotome's even better'n _me_!" she said with a smirk, dropping the weapon like it was a mic. Appropriately, Kuno only response was to gape in awe.

" _There_ you are!" a pleasantly familiar voice said. Ranma looked to the right to see Akane running toward him, a kettle cradled in her arms.

Turning away from Kuno, Ranma walked toward Akane, still grinning.

"I've been looking all over!" Akane said, pouting a little. Her eyes glanced down at Ranma's legs. "...You know you've got no pants, right?"

Warmth grew in Ranma's cheeks. He shrugged. "Oh, uh, yeah. Didn't need 'em anymore."

Raising an eyebrow, Akane said, "So this is... purposeful."

"Of course!" He put his hands behind his head, trying his best to feign nonchalance.

Akane's eyes roamed again, in a different direction this time. "You know, I'm not sure why I didn't notice it before, but… you've got _no_ armpit hair."

Ranma's arms immediately clamped against his sides, his face heating up even more. "Wh- I- What's your point!?"

She shrugged. "Just observing a fact."

His feet shuffling in an odd quick walk, Ranma moved past Akane, making a grab for the kettle. She moved just far enough to make him miss, but followed him as he kept walking away.

"You gonna hand that over?" he said, glaring.

Another shrug. "Probably." A few seconds passed. "That was stupid, you know, jumping out the window without even looking."

"Don't remember askin' you."

"Hm…" she said, tapping her lip with a finger. "Guess you don't _really_ want this water, then."

Ranma stopped in his tracks. "Wait, wait, I'm sorry, okay?" He reached for the kettle again, fingers wiggling, but she kept it out of reach.

"Apology accepted! But one more thing, first." Her eyes moved to his upper arms. "How come you shave your pits?"

"I-i-!" Ranma sputtered for a few seconds. "It's part of the curse-"

Akane smirked. "Hah, no, they're like that when you're a guy, too! It just didn't hit me until now."

Was his face on fire? He was pretty sure it was. "It's just... people expect it when you're a girl, so I keep it like that all the time, since I never know when I'm gonna-"

"Jump into a pool," Akane finished.

Ranma glared, holding out a hand. "Water now?"

Giggling, Akane handed it over. She didn't stop laughing for quite a while, as they walked. It wasn't the _worst_ sound.

{}

"Hey, Ranma," Nabiki said the next day, catching him as he was walking toward the washroom.

"What's up?" he said, coming to a halt.

"Kuno-chan wrote this for you." She handed him a small envelope, addressed to 'The Tree-Borne Pantless Girl.' "Pretty sure she thinks you're two different people."

Ranma rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah, I've noticed." His eyes scanned the letter, a frown forming as he reached the end.

"What's it say?"

Crumpling it, Ranma said, "It's a challenge letter. She wants to meet at the school on Sunday."

Nodding sagely, Nabiki said, "Yeah, sounds about right. Kuno-chan hates to lose, and Akane mentioned you beat her..." She smirked. "She left the pantsless part out, though."

Ranma sighed, and continued on to his bath.

{}

Sunday couldn't come fast enough. When it finally arrived, Ranma was only too eager to get dressed and make his way over to the school grounds. Even if Kuno thought his two forms were different people, if he could beat her soundly enough in _both_ forms, hopefully she'd stop bothering him all the damn time.

He wore another set of clothes from China, and not ones fitted for his female form. Ranma didn't actually _have_ any clothes specifically for girl-mode, but he was at least able to roll the pant legs up and tie a sash around his waist ahead of time, to mitigate some of the bagginess.

The field Kuno called him out to was a big, flat, grassy area on the edge of school grounds. The light breeze was stronger out here, with no trees or buildings to buffer it.

Despite Ranma arriving early, Kuno was already there, waiting near the center of the field.

"So, you have come, my tree-borne pantsless girl!" she called out, saying the words far more solemnly than seemed appropriate.

"I got pants now," Ranma said, glaring. He stopped a meter or two from Kuno, taking note of her suspicious lack of a sword. There was a hand kept behind her back… maybe it was there? But she'd never bothered to hide it before, didn't make much sense to do so now. "You ready to go? Where's your sword?"

Waving her free hand, Kuno said, "I've no need of such things. Not today."

Ranma didn't look impressed. "Pretty confident for someone I dropped with one kick the other day."

Far from looking insulted, as Ranma had expected, Kuno seemed pleased. "Such a show of strength is what inspired my missive! As for confidence, let me show you confidence of a _different_ sort, by giving you… _this_!"

With the last word, Kuno threw whatever she'd been holding behind her back with surprising speed. Ranma was barely able to catch it, especially since it went a bit high - well over this form's head. The light 'crunch' it made when he grabbed it surprised him - what kind of weapon was this? Pulling his arm down, his eyes bugged in his head to see that he was holding a bouquet of black roses.

"Pig-tailed girl," Kuno said softly, a light tint to her cheeks, "I love you."

It felt as though Ranma's heart had gone into overdrive. It hammered in his chest, almost painfully, like it was trying to escape his body. Legs giving way, he collapsed to his knees, staring wide-eyed at Kuno.

She smiled down at him, then turned and walked away. Her ponytail and her gi's sleeves danced in the breeze. She didn't look back.

{}

It sure was dark in this room. Ranma couldn't see a thing - it was as though he was surrounded by nothing. If he could find a wall, maybe he could find a light switch... Suddenly a light from high, high above flicked on, shining on him like a spotlight.

" _Ranma_!" a voice called out, prompting him to swivel around. Behind him, Kuno stood, holding a bouquet of black roses. Except she was taller than usual - a giant, even. She stared down at him menacingly, unmoving.

"K-kuno!?" Ranma said, horrified. "What's going-"

"I love you!" the giantess shouted, the force of her voice shaking the very earth itself. Ranma struggled to stay on his feet.

"Look, you idiot, I'm a guy!" he said, pointing at himself with his thumb.

A smile grew on Kuno's face. "Then why are you wearing such a cute dress?"

Ranma's breath hitched. He looked down at himself, body still in guy-mode, but covered by an adorable blue dress. "W-wait, I-"

"That one is cute as well!" Kuno bellowed. Ranma was now wearing a form-fitting red dress that showed off the cleavage his body now had.

A mirror appeared in front of Ranma, forcing him to take in his girly form in all its glory. Except… it wasn't 'girl-mode', at least not like it normally was. His hair was still black, and he was still his normal height.

"You're such a pretty girl," Kuno's voice boomed.

In the mirror, Ranma saw himself smiling. Kuno was right… she _was_ pretty, wasn't she?

Screaming, Ranma awoke in a cold sweat. His father, currently in panda form, shuffled a little in his sleep, but didn't seem to wake. Ranma glanced about the dark room, which was not so dark that he couldn't make out his surroundings. He was back in the real world; the dream was over.

'Dream'... more like _nightmare_. What the hell was _that_ about? This whole Kuno business had apparently shaken him up way more than he'd first thought. A shiver went up his spine, as he recalled the words he'd heard in both his dream world _and_ the real world: "I love you."

Pulling the sheet over his shoulders, Ranma tried to get himself to fall asleep again. But his mind instead drifted back to the dream, this time focusing on the end, when he'd looked into the mirror. He'd smiled… he remembered it clearly. _Why_? Even in a dream, why would he have _enjoyed_ any of that? He sighed, shuffling on his tatami mat. Chalk it up to weird dream logic, that was the only thing he could figure. It was the only thing that made sense.

As sleep finally found him, the last image to flit through his waking mind was of himself, wearing that red dress. He smiled.

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Just take the hints already, Ranma. They're not subtle.


	5. Crude Drawings (Kuno Strikes!, Part III)

_The title of the arc finally gains its relevance._

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It was a rough night for Ranma, and consequently, a rough morning. He had a hard time staying asleep, with terrible thoughts running through his head and even _more_ terrible dreams. When he finally got out of bed, it was only because Akane was yelling at him about being late for school.

Once Ranma was done getting ready at maximum speed and with minimal effort, the unhappy couple raced along the path to Furinkan High, side-by-side. At some point during the morning a question flit through Ranma's mind, one he had deemed too likely to cause conflict to be worth mentioning. He didn't need _more_ yelling from Akane right now. Still, he couldn't help wondering: why had she not just left for school on her own? There was no reason she _had_ to wait for him.

Passing the now familiar entrance to school grounds, Ranma felt a confluence of disparate emotions war within as he spied Kuno up ahead, sword in hand. One part of him wanted to start fighting her, while a second part wanted to hang out and get to know her. A third wanted him to slap himself for such absurd thoughts.

"Akane!" Kuno shouted as they neared, brandishing her sword. "Might you fight-"

"NO!" Akane and Ranma shouted simultaneously, speeding past the confused upperclassman.

A few moments later, while putting their shoes away, Akane rounded on Ranma. "I didn't need your help telling her no. I've done it just fine by myself _tons_ of times before."

"Didn't do it for _you_ ," Ranma grumbled, not looking at her.

The sound of a foot tapping reached Ranma's ears. He turned his head to see Akane glaring at him, arms crossed. "Is this about whatever happened Sunday? Why won't you tell me about that?"

"It's none'a your damn _business_ , that's why!" he cried, slamming the locker door closed. He stormed off, not offering Akane another glance.

{}

"Ah, Ranma, _there_ you are!"

He sighed. All he'd wanted to do was to find an empty classroom where he could eat lunch in silence. "Whaddaya want, Nabiki? Another _challenge letter_ from Kuno?" The bad mood Ranma had started the day with had only worsened as the day had gone on, and the look on his face made that abundantly clear.

Bright smile straining a little, Nabiki said, "Oh, uh… kinda, actually. She wants to meet you outside."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. " _This_ me, or…" He glanced around at the other students, none of whom seemed to be paying attention. "The _other_ me?"

She waved her hands placatingly. "Oh no, no! _This_ you! No worries!" It had probably been obvious to everyone back at home how bad a mood Ranma had been in after his 'fight' on Sunday, especially to someone as irritatingly observant as Nabiki.

"Fine, tell me where to go."

{}

Again, Kuno was already there when Ranma arrived. This time, however, they met behind the school, rather than in an open field. Also, Kuno had her sword, though it was what she held in her other hand that grabbed Ranma's attention. She carried a big, cute stuffed bear, with large round eyes and a cute little bow on its neck.

"Well, whaddaya want?" Ranma said, glaring, eyes moving back and forth between Kuno and the bear.

Kuno, for her part, didn't seem happy to be there either. "That will be 'Upperclassman Kuno' to _you_ , boor!" Before Ranma could roll his eyes, Kuno tossed the bear at him, which he easily caught, despite his surprise.

"Uh…"

"Tell me why I must give this to _you_!" Kuno demanded, her free hand now a fist.

"Wh-wha…?" The anger he'd been feeling all day melted away, replaced with utter confusion.

Looking supremely irritated that she had to explain herself, Kuno said, "Quoth Nabiki Tendo: 'If you want to give your bear to her, you've got to give it to Ranma Saotome.'" She leaned forward, teeth bared. "How do you know my pig-tailed goddess?"

Realization struck Ranma, immediately launching him back into his negative sphere of emotion. "Forget her."

"W-what!? How dare-"

"You'll probably never even see her again. So do yourself a favor and forget." Without another word, Ranma turned and walked around the corner. He glanced back down at the stuffed bear, and tossed it into a nearby group of bushes, scowling.

Liquid cold suddenly enveloped him, promptly followed by that familiar, dreaded tingle. Cold water had fallen from on high, and now he stood there shaking miserably, drenched and in girl-mode.

"Hey, what if someone was down there!?" a voice from above shouted.

"Eh, don't worry so much," said another.

 _Shit_. Ranma had to get out of here, before-

A loud gasp sounded from behind. "M-my beautiful red-haired goddess! You're here!"

Slowly, Ranma turned, expression grim. Kodachi stared at him in glee, one hand covering her mouth, perhaps to hide her excitement.

"He said I would never see you again, and yet, miraculously, here you are!" She reached out, taking Ranma's hand in hers. "Truly, love conquers all!" Emotions warred within Ranma so hard that it felt as though his head might burst.

Suddenly, boiling hot water splashed against them both, prompting angry, surprised yelps.

"Akane Tendo, why would you do this!?" Kodachi cried, looking genuinely hurt by the attack.

"Sorry, went wider with that than I meant to," Akane said, grimacing, open kettle in hand.

Pulling his hand away roughly, Ranma waited for Kuno's eyes to turn toward him again, unsurprised to see her expression shift to outrage.

Ignoring her for a moment, he cast his eyes on Akane. "What're you doing here?"

"I overheard Nabiki talking to you, and, well…" She held the kettle up. "I figured you'd end up needing this again."

Ranma rolled his eyes, but couldn't deny she'd been right. Looking back at Kodachi, he said, "So, you get it now?" For some reason, it hurt his heart a bit to have disillusioned Kodachi like this, but he couldn't be mad at Akane. It was for the best, after all. He _wasn't_ a girl, and Kodachi needed to understand that.

Kuno brought her bokken up to point at Ranma, and he prepared himself for her inevitable rage at the whole misunderstanding. "Saotome! What have you done with my goddess!?"

Ranma nearly fell over in surprise. She'd been _right_ there! She'd been _touching_ him! She had to have felt the size of his hand change!

Nearby, Akane sighed, and put the kettle down on the ground. " _Goddess_? I thought you said you two _fought_ on Sunday."

Unable to meet her eyes, face flushing, Ranma said, "I, uh… that might not have been _exactly_ what happened…"

"My goddess told you of my confession of love, and you _lied_ and told dear Akane that we fought!?" Kuno seemed furious as she tightened her grip on her practice sword.

Sighing again, Akane said, "Look, regardless of all that, she's not gonna understand what's going on unless we spell it out, Ranma." Not waiting for a response, she continued, "Upperclassman, the pig-tailed girl and Ranma are the same person."

There was a pause. Kuno looked perplexed. "What madness do you speak? Ranma is tall, and has hair of darkest night! My beauteous goddess is far smaller, and has gorgeous red locks!"

"It's a curse," Akane explained. "He fell into a cursed spring in China."

At first, Kuno said nothing. Then, she began to laugh heartily. "My dear Akane! I never knew you had such a sense of humor! What a _fantastic_ joke!"

Ranma stamped a foot. "It's _not_ a joke! I've got an awful curse that turns me into a girl!"

Laughter ending abruptly, Kuno pointed her sword Ranma's way again. "The joke is far less funny when uttered by _your_ lips." Lowering the sword slightly, her eyes shone with an unexpected intensity. "To become a girl is a choice one can make, but to change height so dramatically, and to change one's hair instantly without a wig? It would be magic! And magic, as we all know, does _not_ exist!"

Silence. A particular part of that sentence was proving rather difficult for Ranma to parse.

"What're you talking about?" Akane said, expression bewildered. "It's common knowledge that magic, like curses and mystical artifacts, exist."

"It's okay if you didn't realize," Ranma said. " _I_ didn't, 'til I ended up with this curse."

Shaking her head emphatically, Kuno shouted, "Enough of this farce! I am sorry, dear Akane, but I cannot allow you to cover for this cretin any longer!" Again she pointed her sword at him, as she barked, "Saotome! Where have you hidden her!?"

She was right about one thing - it was time for this to end. Moving into a fighting stance, Ranma said, "Maybe I'll tell you, if you beat me."

"Ranma, what're you-"

"Just trust me, Akane." His face hardened as he looked to Kuno. "If I win, though, you've gotta give up your passion for the pig-tailed girl!"

"And if _I_ win, you will stop coming between us?" Kuno said, eyebrow raised.

There was no chance of him losing, he was sure of it. "Yeah!"

A grin grew on Kodachi's face, which, when combined with the gleam in her eye, resulted in a disturbingly malicious expression. She began to laugh, but it was nothing like the light, relatively normal one from before. This haunting sound quickly went high, and loud, and strangely dramatic, and as it continued her hand drifted to just below her mouth, palm facing out. After what seemed like _entirely_ too long, the laughter stopped.

Neither Ranma nor Akane seemed to have any idea how to handle what had just happened. They stood stock still, like deer in headlights, faces scrunched in confusion.

"Saotome, I accept!" Without further warning, Kuno lunged at Ranma with her practice blade, which he only barely managed to evade. More shocking than the sudden attack, however, were the long, sharp spikes that momentarily protruded from the blade. When Kodachi pulled back, the spikes were no longer visible.

"Wh-what!?" Ranma shouted, eyes wide. He turned to Akane. "Did you see-?"

Kodachi lunged once more, and again Ranma barely managed to dodge. As though in slow motion, he saw the bokken jab past the side of his head, which turned to follow the path of the practice blade. His face was uncomfortably close to the weapon, prompting him to pull back, his eyes going wide in horror as a spike jutted out, coming within a centimeter of his eye. When it retracted and the bokken pulled away without mangling his face, he breathed an audible sigh of relief.

Leaping backward to get some distance between them, Ranma yelled, "What the hell're you playin' at!?"

Smirking, Kuno said, "You are between me and the person I love, Saotome. I will do _whatever_ it takes to defeat you!"

Her swipes and jabs came like lightning, giving Ranma almost no room to get in an attack of his own. After dodging a swipe that felled a tree, he finally found an opening, managing to kick his opponent right in the stomach. The kendo fiend reeled back, while at the same time pieces of paper burst free from her kendogi.

They fluttered about the two combatants, and Ranma grabbed for one, unable to push away his curiosity. What he held in his hand was a piece of notebook paper, upon which a crude drawing had been scribbled, seemingly with colored pencils. Two stick figures stood in a sparse background that included a flat green line, a sun in the right corner of the sky, and a single tree to the left. One stick figure had long dark hair drawn in a side ponytail, while the other had slightly shorter red hair drawn in a pigtail. The two figures were holding hands, and had little hearts drawn around them.

"The hell…?" Ranma muttered, unable to take his eyes off the sheet.

"You look elsewhere in the midst of battle! It will be your undoing." Despite the verbal warning, Ranma was too distracted to successfully dodge Kodachi's next attack. Though the bokken itself barely missed him, the spike protruding from its top did not, tearing into Ranma's skin through his shirt.

Gripping his wounded side, Ranma flipped away, inwardly cursing himself. And yet when another picture fluttered nearby, he grabbed it without thinking. Drawn in the same crude style as the first, this one featured the stick figure Kodachi and stick figure Ranma walking along what he assumed was supposed to be a beach. They were, of course, holding hands.

Despite the distraction, Ranma managed to dodge the next attack, even as he grabbed another drawing. This one featured Kuno again, but instead of stick figure Ranma, it was a figure with long dark hair in a style suspiciously similar to a certain unwanted fiancée of his. They seemed to be in a classroom, and they were definitely holding hands.

"Do you not take me seriously!?" Kuno cried, taking another swing at Ranma. His dodge proved too slow once again, and he grit his teeth as he felt something sharp tear into his upper arm.

"Ranma!" Akane shouted, using her hands as a makeshift megaphone. "Stop looking at whatever those pieces of paper are, or you're gonna lose!"

She was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Kuno was more dangerous than he'd originally thought, and him getting distracted wasn't helping matters. Shifting to the side to avoid another series of rapid jabs, his mind raced as he tried to determine a way to end this. Kodachi was obnoxiously quick, and that bokken was a formidable weapon now that she was using its hidden features.

The bokken - he had to get rid of it. Glancing about the battlefield, Ranma spied what might prove to be his savior.

While dodging Kuno's near-continuous flurry of attacks, Ranma moved steadily backward, until his heel bumped against the large stone statue he'd been working his way towards. Pressing his back against the flat surface behind him, he stuck his tongue out at Kuno.

"She's mine! I'll _never_ let her go!"

Kodachi stopped, unbridled rage overtaking her features. "You… you… wretched enslaver of women!"

She launched her bokken forward, her full weight behind it. Right before it pierced through him, Ranma kicked his legs up off the ground, allowing himself to fall. The spiked sword just missed the top of his head, stabbing into the statue instead. He watched with a smirk as Kuno attempted to pull her sword back out; it didn't seem to budge.

"Gotcha," he said, right before he launched himself upward with his arms, kicking her with both feet directly in the gut. She went flying, landing a few meters away with a dull thud, right as Ranma's feet touched ground.

"We done now?" he said mockingly, hands on his hips.

Shakily, Kodachi rose to her feet. She screamed, "N-never! I will never give up, as long as I draw breath!" Balling her hands into fists, she tried to fall into what she must have thought was a defensive fighting stance, but it was obvious she didn't know what she was doing when it came to unarmed combat.

Sighing, Ranma let his hands drop. This wasn't going to end as long as the tenacious girl was still conscious.

The two bitter enemies charged at one another, but without her weapon, Kodachi was no match. Before she could get close enough to touch him, he managed to kick her in several weak spots across her body. She collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Why'd she fall?" Akane said, moving close to Ranma now that the fight seemed to be finished.

"Kicked her."

Akane seemed surprised. She glanced down at Kuno, who lay unmoving. "You did? I didn't even see it."

"I'm quick," he replied, smirking. "Ol' 'Upperclassman Kuno' didn't _have_ much, did she?"

Frowning, Akane said, "Cocky, aren't you. You took a hit or two, right?"

Putting his hands behind his head, Ranma said, "Psh, those? They don't even itch. They're nothin'."

Akane quirked an eyebrow, bending down to look at Ranma's side. " _Nothing_ , huh?" Lightly, she poked his wound.

Immediately tears welled up in his eyes, and he fell to his knees, sobbing.

"Didn't _have_ much, huh?" Akane said, unimpressed. Remaining crouched, she grabbed one of the pieces of paper that had fallen to the ground. "What was on these, anyway?"

She flipped the paper over. It was the first drawing Ranma had grabbed, featuring him and Kuno on a flat plain with a tree and sun. She broke out in a fit of giggles, which only seemed to grow when he tossed a glare her way.

"It's kinda cute, actually," she said, grinning at him.

Ranma grabbed another sheet of paper off the ground, glanced at its picture, smiled, then shoved it in her face.

"Wh-wha? _Me_!?"

Sticking his tongue out and pointing, Ranma said, "Yeah, how cute is it _now_?"

"But… but I thought she switched to _you_."

"Apparently she still likes us both." He glanced back and forth between the two pictures. Now that he was looking at it, there were more hearts on _his_ drawing, weren't there? Laughing, he pointed at the hearts. "Heh, maybe she likes me _more_ though. Lookit all those hearts! _Way_ more than in yours."

Akane glared. "I- well-" She paused. "I'm sure she's been drawing pictures with me for way _longer_ , so all the hearts aren't necessary every time."

For reasons Ranma couldn't really understand, a strange sense of jealousy was rising within him. He stood, brandishing the pictures at Akane, who stood to her full height. "Hey, don't they say new love is _way_ more intense an' passionate? So, lookin' at it _that_ way, she _is_ more into me!"

Waving a hand, Akane said, "Even if that was true, it won't last. The newness will fade, but her love for _me_ has weathered the test of time."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Psh, what's she even see in such a dorky girl, anyway? I'm _clearly_ the better catch. I mean, lookit this bod!" He gestured at himself, then looked Akane up and down. Smirking, he said, "'Specially compared to _yours_."

Without warning, though in retrospect he really should have anticipated it, a fist slammed into Ranma's shoulder with a sickening crunch. Falling to his knees again, Ranma gripped his shoulder tight, fighting back tears.

Worry in her eyes, Akane reached her hands out and said, "Crap, I'm sorry… I- I didn't mean to hit _that_ hard."

"What did you _do_!?" Ranma said, sniffling, trying his best to endure the pain.

"I don't know, I'm sorry!" She looked around as if there was something or someone nearby that could help, then turned back to Ranma. "I can take you to Dr. Tofu's! I'm sure she can fix it."

Ranma glared. "Heh, yeah, and I'm sure you'd _love_ to see her again."

Fist clenching, Akane said, "That's not-! It's not about that, I just want to help you! Now com'on." Moving forward with arms outstretched, she stopped when Ranma recoiled.

"The hell do you think you're doin'?" he said, staring at her arms as though they were vicious snakes.

She rolled her eyes. "I was just going to carry-"

"You can't _carry_ me! I'm a guy!"

Akane's arms fell limp. Her face the picture of irritation, she stomped away, quickly returning, kettle in tow.

Eyes bugging, Ranma scrambled backwards, realizing Akane's plan. "W-wait, Akane, you don't gotta-"

"Apparently I do," she said flatly, right before tossing the remaining kettle water, which had long since cooled, onto the prone Ranma. Dropping the kettle to the ground, she smiled broadly, hands on her hips. "And now you've got _nothing_ to complain about."

A gust of air blew past, sending a chill up Ranma's spine. He had _plenty_ to complain about. But before he could, Akane scooped him up, cradling his smaller form like a baby.

"What about her?" she said, jerking her head toward the still unconscious Kuno.

Trying to ignore his embarrassment, Ranma muttered, "She'll be fine. Should wake up any minute now."

"Kay, let's go, then!"

As the two of them rushed away from school, Ranma grew more and more sullen. His body shook slightly every time Akane's sprinting feet touched ground. Beneath his back and legs, he felt her arm muscles shift occasionally as she maintained her hold on him. It was… comforting.

And he hated it. He hated that comfort. He hated that feeling of safety her warm, strong arms provided. He hated the way she glanced down at him every now and then, her eyes filled with worry, remorse, and... something else that he was too terrified to identify. But most of all, he hated himself, for not wanting the moment to end.

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If you've been wondering, let me make it clear now: there is only Kodachi, there is no Tatewaki. Not anymore.


	6. Looking Inward (Akane's Feelings, Pt I)

Sorry it took so long! The holidays really threw me off my game.

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"Hm, well, the cuts are shallow, fortunately," Dr. Tofu said, looking over Ranma's injured form, which currently sat on a clinic bed. "I'm sure they're sensitive, but they should heal quickly." She paused. "This dislocated shoulder, though…" She lightly tapped the shoulder in question. "It's brutal, honestly. Who did this to you?"

Donning a dramatically weary expression, Ranma waved Dr. Tofu closer. In a stage whisper, he said, "It was… a dorky girl..."

Fists clenching, Akane felt herself shouting before she could think better of it. "Ranma, shut up, you a-!"

Tofu's eyes caught Akane's, deflating her anger like a popped balloon.

" _You_ did this?" the doctor asked softly.

Suddenly, Akane was the size of a mouse. Her cheeks felt hot, her fingers tangling together as though they couldn't stand to be apart.

"I-I… um… you see…"

Though neither her expression nor her tone were harsh, the next words out of Dr. Tofu's mouth stung like lashes. "Akane, you really need to keep that anger in check. There are better ways to deal with it." A bright smile overtook the doctor's face, followed by a hearty laugh that filled the room. "But I have to admit, when you came in carrying her," she gestured to Ranma, "it brought me back to that bully in junior-high you carried in, exactly the same way, back when I was still in-training."

Bug-sized. That's how big Akane was now.

Despite Ranma's unhidden snickering, Akane couldn't even muster a glare.

A sudden, loud pop rang out, followed by a shout.

"That hurt!" Ranma said, tears in his eyes. "Could'a given me a warning!"

With a shrug, Dr. Tofu said, "I thought it'd be better to do it quickly while you weren't focused on it. No fearful anticipation that way." Eyes locking on Ranma's shoulder, she said, "How's it feel?"

Swiveling his arm around, Ranma said, with noticeable surprise, "It… it feels great, actually. Like nothin' happened."

"Wonderful!" Dr. Tofu stood, offering a hand to Ranma. For a moment, it looked like Ranma might refuse the help, but he ended up taking her hand without a word.

"So, we haven't been properly introduced, but I assume you would be Akane's fiancée, Ranma?" Dr. Tofu said.

The question gave both high-schoolers pause. Briefly, the two of them made eye contact; Ranma seemed just as surprised as Akane felt. Who had told her? And Ranma looked like a girl right now, so why would she assume…?

"I… I am," Ranma admitted, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Surprised you'd assume that, with me lookin' like this."

Laughing good-naturedly, Dr. Tofu said, "Well, there's no reason two girls can't be engaged." Ranma and Akane made eye contact again, eyes wide. "To tell the truth, though, your father was here earlier, Ranma, for a job interview. Chatty fellow. He told me all about that engagement and curse business."

Not wanting Dr. Tofu to get the wrong idea, Akane spoke up. "Our _parents_ made the decision about the engagement, not us. We don't - _I_ don't want -"

Chuckling again, Dr. Tofu waved the objection away. "Well of course! It's too early, isn't it? You're still kids, after all."

The visceral feeling of her heart dropping caused Akane's chest to ache. Despite the pain, she willed herself to smile. "Hah, y-yeah…"

A soft chiming met Akane's ears; it took her a moment to realize it was the front door bell.

"Excuse me a moment, you two," Dr. Tofu said, exiting the room.

A thick, heavy silence filled the room. Tentatively, Ranma stepped toward Akane. "You, uh… you doing oka-"

Both of them jumped in surprise when a sharp ringing sound pierced through the air. Glancing over to a nearby desk, Akane shot a short glare at the source of the noise, an old black phone.

"Could one of you grab that, please?" Dr. Tofu called from the other room.

Without hesitation, Akane picked the phone up and brought it to her ear. "Dr. Tofu's, how can I help you?"

"Oh, is that you, Akane?" said the voice of her oldest sister. Her heart, which had come to rest in the pit of her stomach, dropped even lower.

"Y-yes, it's me. Dr. Tofu can't come to the phone."

"Well that's alright," Kasumi said; Akane could hear the smile in her voice. "Could you let her know I'm going to stop by? I wanted to return a book I borrowed."

Akane's heart flopped to the ground in a bloody heap. "S-sure," she said, deadpan.

"Thank you! I'll be by shortly."

As soon as her sister hung up, Akane slammed the phone down, grabbed her pack, and practically charged towards the door.

"W-wait, Akane, where're you going!?" Ranma said, caught off guard. "Who the heck was on the phone? I thought you'd wanna stay with the Doc-"

Clamping a hand roughly over Ranma's mouth, Akane pushed him into the wall. "Shut up. Just, _for once_ , keep your _stupid_ mouth shut." Wide eyes stared back at her, and no attempt to dislodge her hand seemed forthcoming. Sighing heavily, Akane continued. "There's… a girl. ...A girl that Dr. Tofu likes." A tortured note entered her voice. "It's my sister. Kasumi. She's... coming over."

The moment she let her hand drop away she regretted it. Smirking deviously, Ranma said, "Why so upset? Seems to me like you're jealous, but you keep insistin' you're not a les-"

Tears in her eyes, Akane glared daggers at Ranma, who stopped the teasing abruptly.

"Thanks for getting that!" Dr. Tofu said, striding back into the room with a few boxes in hand. "Just a few supplies," she said, as though anticipating the question. "Who called?"

Not meeting Dr. Tofu's eyes, Akane said, "Just someone that's going to stop by. Ranma and I should probably go-"

"Nonsense!" Dr. Tofu proclaimed, loud enough to surprise them both. She set the boxes she'd been carrying down. "They should heal pretty quick, but I still wanted to put a few bandages on those wounds, Ranma."

And thus Akane found herself sitting down again, despite her overwhelming desire to escape somewhere, anywhere else. Besides a few attempts at light conversation from Dr. Tofu, the room remained oddly quiet. Akane stared blankly at her own hands, silently rebuking herself for not leaving when she had the chance. She snuck a quick glance at Ranma, and was surprised to see him staring at her. There was a look in the currently-red-head's eyes that made Akane uncomfortable… worry? Pity? Guilt? Whatever it was, she could only take seeing it for a second before looking away.

The front door bell rang once more. Immediately after, a soft, warm voice called out, "Dr. Tofu? Are you there?"

Instantly, Dr. Tofu's demeanor changed. She froze in place, the bandage she was holding hovering a few centimeters away from Ranma's arm. Her eye were wide, like a deer in headlights, and her hands began to tremble. Akane barely suppressed a sigh; this was far from the first time she'd seen this happen.

"Oh, there you are! Hello, Akane!" Kasumi said with a smile, peeking her head into the room the rest of them were in. Her smile disappeared for a moment when she eyed Ranma. "Oh, Ranma, what happened!?"

Before anyone else could answer, Dr. Tofu spoke, her voice notably higher-pitched than before. "O-oh, nothing! She was just playing around with some friends at school, nothing to worry about!" Not glancing down, she pressed the bandage to Ranma's skin - Akane could tell from where she sat that it barely covered the actual cut on Ranma's arm. "All patched up now, good as new!"

Despite raising an eyebrow, Kasumi let her smile reappear, and took a few more steps into the room. In her hands sat the book, and atop that was a plate wrapped in cloth, presumably to keep the plate's contents warm. "I brought your book back, along with some cookies, since I took so long!"

Shooting to her feet, Dr. Tofu took a few large steps forward, her arms extended and a big, goofy grin on her face. "Oh, how thoughtful! You shouldn't have!" After quickly and awkwardly stuffing the book in her robe, Dr. Tofu attempted to unwrap the cookies, her shaky hands and shakier mind making the task a difficult one.

Shaking her head, Kasumi took a step forward. "Here, let me help." She reached a hand out, softly pressing it against Dr. Tofu's to steady it, guiding the doctor in the apparently difficult task of removing a cloth from a plate. Dr. Tofu's face went red.

It was Akane's turn to leap to her feet. "Well, sis, it was great seeing you, but I've got to go."

Kasumi turned, surprised, but Akane was already out the door, without a backward glance.

{}

A few minutes later, Akane sat on the riverbank, idly tossing rocks into the water. It was so quiet here… just the soft sound of flowing water, the small splooshes when the rocks hit that water, and the light chugging of a tugboat as it passed by. It was peaceful in a way Akane's life hadn't been for a long time.

Inside, Akane was far less peaceful than her surroundings. Her feelings were a flurry within her, nebulous and confusing. Why did seeing Dr. Tofu enjoying Kasumi's company upset her so much? Why was so jealous of her sister? She knew there had never been and would never be a chance of her and the doctor… what, dating?

She chucked the next rock harder. _I'm not a lesbian_. That's what she'd told Ranma, more than once. And she believed it. Sure, she had never really been interested in boys, but that was just because she hadn't met any good ones. She wasn't some… deviant. And even if… even if she were, there still was no chance Dr. Tofu ever would have been interested in her. ...So why did she hurt so much?

A familiar, irritating face slid into view - Ranma, sticking his tongue out at her like an idiot. Scowling, she stood and glared down at him.

"What're _you_ doing here?"

"Jeeze," he said, standing up too, tongue retreating back into his mouth. "You're still so grouchy."

Hands on her hips, Akane said, "What, did you think your stupid face was going to cheer me up?"

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"So, what, I'm supposed to believe you found me just to try to make me feel better?" she said, rolling her eyes.

Again, he shrugged. "Maybe."

She scoffed, stooping to pick up her bag. "When did _you_ get so chivalrous?"

As though offended by the suggestion, Ranma scowled. "You were just actin' weird back at the Doc's office, is all."

Narrowing her eyes, Akane looked Ranma over a few times. She'd expected much more teasing, not this weird, seemingly genuine concern. "You're not some alien doppelganger, are you?"

"What!? No! I just -" He crossed his arms, huffing. "Whatever, who cares about an uncute girl like you, anyway?"

Akane's eyes lit up with recognition. What a surprise! Smirking, she took a step closer to the flustered red-head. "Oh, my. Is _that_ it?" She leaned to the side, grinning from ear-to-ear. "You _like_ me, don't you?"

The color immediately drained from his face. "W-what!? No!"

Getting right up into his face, she poked his nose and laughed. "You're a bad liar."

Sputtering like a broken engine, Ranma flailed his arms about. "I-I don't - I never - you're just -" His cheeks went almost as red as his current hair, which was quite adorable in this form. For the briefest of moments, Akane found herself lamenting the fact that this flailing dorky girl in front of her wasn't the real Ranma.

Pressing a finger against Ranma's lips made him freeze in shock. Akane smiled warmly. "Hey, let's get some burgers. It'll be my treat."

{}

Ten or fifteen minutes later, Akane and Ranma sat near each other beneath a tree in the park, a fast-food bag between them. They quietly ate their own burgers, Akane occasionally sipping on the milkshake she'd ordered as her drink. She watched silently as Ranma crumpled up a devoured burger's wrapping, then tossed it toward a trash can across the way. It hit the rim and fell right in.

Finishing her burger, Akane followed suit, crumpling the wrapping up and tossing it. The wrapper flew through the air, hit the side of the trash can, and fell to the ground. She sighed. Getting to her feet, she walked over to pick her trash back up, but instead of dropping it into the can, she took it back to the tree and sat down. Taking more care to line her shot up, she tossed the garbage once more, a smile coming to her face when it plopped directly into the bin.

Without thinking about it, she turned her smile toward Ranma, staring at him as though awaiting praise. He ignored her at first, then spared her an unimpressed glance.

"Simpleton," he muttered, before taking a big bite of another burger.

Huffing, she looked away, angrily grabbing another sandwich from the bag. Like the first, this one was a two-patty burger, thicker than the normal ones that Ranma had been eating. She took a big, vicious bite out of it.

"...You sure eat a lot, don't ya?" Ranma said, while Akane was still chewing.

Gulping the bite down, Akane shot a glare Ranma's way. " _So_ sorry I'm not a dainty flower like Kasumi!"

Looking simultaneously confused and annoyed, Ranma sighed, setting his chin in the palm of his hand. "That's _not_ what I said."

Akane looked away, silently fuming. But it wasn't really Ranma she was upset about… And then, suddenly, against her better judgement, she decided to open her heart up.

"It's…. been like that for a while," she said softly.

"Huh?"

She took a deep breath. "Dr. Tofu and Kasumi. She's been crushing on my sister for… a while, now."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ranma lower the burger he'd been about to take a bite of. "She… _really_?"

With a dark chuckle, Akane said, "You must've noticed how she started acting, once Kasumi arrived." For emphasis, she pointed at Ranma's skewed bandage.

He nodded slowly, gears in his mind whirring. "Huh… yeah, she did start acting strange..."

"She always does, when Kasumi's around," Akane said, following it up with a small sigh.

Ranma stared at his burger, shaking his head. "Geeze, that's rough… no wonder you're brokenhear-" He stopped, seemingly realizing what he was saying, his eyes nervously shooting Akane's way.

Besides a small glance, she didn't look at him, and at first, she didn't respond. Taking a big breath, she started talking again. "It… it's not as simple as that. I just… It's not only that Dr. Tofu likes Kasumi, it's also that she sees my sister as… as an adult." Gripping a bit of her dress, Akane continued, "When we first met, I _was_ a kid, but… I'm only two years younger than Kasumi. She's grown, and so have I. But I guess I'm perpetually a kid to Dr. Tofu, no matter what I do…"

Glancing at Ranma, Akane was unsurprised to find him at a loss with what to say or how to react. That was probably for the best.

"It's not that I like her, like she likes Kasumi. You know, romantically. At least…" She paused. "I don't think so. I… I'm having trouble figuring out my true feelings. For a lot of things, really." Tears welled up in her eyes, despite her best efforts. One small drop fell, splashing against the back of her hand. "I'm just tired of feeling this way. Of feeling confused." Softly, almost as a whisper, she added, "Why is life so hard?"

"U-uh, hey!" Ranma said, fingers flailing, a panicked look on his face that he attempted to replace with a smile. "It could be worse! You could, ya know, have a curse or somethin', like me!" Akane stared blankly at him, tears still in her eyes. His forced smile faltered. "Um, or, I mean, there's other cursed springs too… bet there's an octopus one! I bet there's some poor sap out there havin' ta live half his life as a friggin' squid! So, ya know, that's probably worse, huh?"

Abruptly, Akane broke out into laughter. She doubled over, the laughter overtaking her entire body. After a good minute or two, the laughter subsided, and she wiped tears from her eyes, still grinning. Ranma looked horrified, like he was worried he'd broken her.

"You're… really bad at trying to make people feel better," she said, chuckling once or twice more.

Casting his eyes to the ground and rubbing the back of his head, Ranma said, "S-sorry."

Waving a hand, Akane said, "Hah, it's fine. It was so bad that it was funny." Wiping away the last of her tears, she said, "And thanks for the attempt, really."

Ranma shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "I just… I like seeing ya smile, ya know?"

"Hah, do you, now?" Getting to her feet, she grabbed the fast-food bag and brought it over to the trash can, dropping it inside. She smirked. "You really _do_ like me, don't you?"

Getting to his feet with a scowl and a blush, Ranma said, "No I don't, stop sayin' that!"

"Also, you know that an octopus and a squid are two different things, right?" she said, as the two of them began walking home.

For some reason, this question seemed to make him even more flustered than the crush accusations. "I, uh… 'course I do! _Everyone_ knows that..."

She giggled, and as they continued on their way, there were several more moments where Ranma's responses to her teasing questions made her laugh. He was just so cute when he was flustered, so she wanted nothing more than to keep him in that state. It was surprisingly easy right now.

That evening, while Akane lay in bed, her mind drifted to Ranma again. When she thought about it, it was only when Ranma was in girl form that Akane seemed to think he was cute. And not just in a 'aw how adorable' way, but, like… actual attraction, she was coming to realize. Maybe… maybe Ranma wasn't _completely_ off base with the lesbian stuff...

Turning on her side, Akane frowned at nothing in particular. She didn't _like_ it, but… she had to admit, there was a possibility... Maybe, just _maybe_ , Akane Tendo was bi.

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Well you're getting closer at least, Akane.


	7. A Date? (Akane's Feelings, Part II)

Sorry, again, for the long time between chapters. My hope is that the next gap will be much shorter.

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"Oh, still in bed?" said Nabiki, poking her head into Akane's room and grinning mischievously. "You're gonna be laaaaaate~!"

A quick glance at the clock confirmed this was no prank. Sleepiness giving way to panic, Akane flung herself out of bed and began getting ready for school at lightning speed.

Barely ten minutes later, she came running down the stairs, her eyes immediately locking onto Ranma, who sat at the table eating breakfast.

"We're _late_!" she shouted, glaring, rushing up to him and gripping his arm tight. He glared at her, mouth still full of food, but she paid it no mind, tugging him along with her and dashing out the door.

Complaints shot out of his mouth the moment he swallowed his food. Despite her lack of response, he droned on and on the entire time she ran. "Akane. ...Akane, com'on, I can run by myself. ...Akane, let me go! ….A-akane, that old lady's got water! ...Damn it! ...Akane, I can't go to school like this, stop!"

All of the complaining washed over Akane as background noise - her focus remaining squarely on the act of sprinting as fast as she could toward school. Nothing else mattered. A few paces away from the school entrance, however, Ranma's increasingly panicked words finally broke through. She stopped so quickly that it almost sent them both tumbling to the ground from momentum.

Whirling around, she saw that, sure enough, Ranma's hair was red, his clothes baggy. "When did-?"

"Like five minutes ago, you jerk!" Ranma shouted, his higher voice squeaking in rage, his hands balled into fists. Wrenching his arm out of her grasp, he continued shouting. "You passed the damn clinic, too! Now I can't go to school!"

Mind racing, Akane peered around the edge of the wall, getting a quick glimpse at the school's clocktower. They still had five minutes. A moment could be spent attempting to address the problem. Only a moment, though...

"Can't you just-"

Stamping his foot, Ranma said, "No! We've talked about this! How the heck am I s'posed to explain _this_ to people!?" He gestured at himself with short, staccato movements.

Frowning, Akane cast about within her brain for a plan. Given how often Ranma was hit with cold water, this was clearly never going to stop being an issue. There _had_ to be a way to get around it so that Ranma didn't end up missing school all the time.

Her eyes brightened as as idea popped into her head. It was a long shot, but… "Why don't you say that you're Ranma's sister, recently transferred?'

Ranma stared at her like she was an idiot. "What the hell're you talkin' about? For one, who'd fall for that, and two, wouldn't the teachers know it's bs?" He gesticulated unclearly for a few moments, presumably trying to formulate words. "Don't'cha need, like... papers, or somethin', for a school transfer?""

" _I_ can help with that!" said a loud voice that nearly made both Ranma and Akane jump out of their skin. A few paces away stood none other than Kodachi Kuno, positively beaming.

"...How much did you-?" Akane started.

"Enough!" Kodachi proclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "It sounds like my dear pigtailed goddess wishes to attend our great Furinkan High, and she needs assistance in order to do so quickly!"

Mouth flapping silently a few times, Ranma stuttered, "I-I… I don't-"

Kodachi slapped both her hands down onto Ranma's shoulders. "Worry not, my beautiful goddess!" Akane couldn't help but smirk - Ranma's face was bright red, his eyes like a deer in headlights. "My mother is the principal! I shall have _no_ trouble arranging this for you!"

Ducking out of Kuno's grasp, Ranma stepped a pace or two away, shaking slightly. "I-I can just - We don't have -" He swallowed, taking a big, calming breath. "I can just go home, there's no need-"

"Nonsense!" Kodachi cried, taking a step forward. "I insist that you allow me to lend my aid!"

"I - but -"

Taking Ranma's hand into her own, Kodachi stared longingly. There was a small pang of emotions within Akane's chest that she preferred not to identify. "I ask only one thing of you, as recompense. Please - might I know my goddess' name?"

Far more quickly than Akane expected, and, judging by his wide eyes, quicker than even _he_ expected, Ranma blurted out, "Ranko!"

Ecstatic didn't even _begin_ to describe the emotion on Kodachi's face.

A bell rang out, sending Akane's heart into overdrive again. She grabbed hold of Ranma's arm and pulled. "We've gotta go. Now!"

"B-but!"

"Fine!" she said, letting him go. " _You_ stay, but I'm going," Turning away, she barreled toward the school doors without a backward glance.

"Worry not, my dear Akane!" Kuno shouted after her. "I shall take care of everything!"

{}

Sure enough, about fifteen minutes into the start of class, the principal poked her head into the room, pulling the teacher outside for a moment. Then, a minute later, the teacher returned, followed by a nervous-looking, still red-haired Ranma.

"Class, I'd like you all to meet our new transfer student!" said the teacher, gesturing unnecessarily at Ranma. "She's actually the sister of our other recent transfer, Ranma Saotome! He, unfortunately, seems to be feeling a bit under the weather today. Isn't that right, dear?"

Ranma nodded.

"Well, hopefully he'll be feeling better soon. Now go ahead and introduce yourself!"

There was a significant amount of red in Ranma's cheeks as he turned toward the class, his eyes darting about until they latched onto Akane's, where they stayed throughout his introduction. "My name is Ranko... Ranko Saotome. Pleased to meet you all."

"Yo, Akane," whispered Yuka, sitting to her left like usual. "You never mentioned Ranma had a cute sister."

Crap. Akane realized with horror that she hadn't anticipated this, even though she really, really should have. The wheels in her brain whirred into overdrive. "Oh, um, yeah, well… she asked me not to. She, uh, wasn't going to go to Furinkan at first, and she's, you know, a pretty private person, so…"

An incredibly irritating smirk spread across Yuka's face. "Uh-huh…"

Ranma passed between the two of them, taking a seat at an empty desk a few rows behind Yuka, right by the window. It was the same spot he usually sat in.

"That'll work for today, since your brother isn't here," the teacher said, smiling pleasantly. "I'll try to scrounge up another desk before tomorrow."

"Hey, quick question…" Yuka said, still grinning. "How protective of her do you think Ranma is? Like, if someone were to hit on her, for instance, you think he'd-"

"Yuka!" said Sayuri in an angry whisper, from the seat behind Akane.

With a sigh and a dramatic roll of the eyes, Yuka said, "Right, right. Forget I said anything."

Far too many thoughts zipped around in Akane's head; trying to keep track of them was giving her a migraine. Were other people going to talk to her about Ranma? She needed to talk to him before that, make sure they had their stories straight... What was Yuka going on about, though? Why would she care if some guy hit on him? ...Oh geeze, he'd hate that, if it happened, huh? Wait, but why'd Sayuri shush Yuka? She was just being weird like usual. Hm… what did Kuno say to make this all work out, anyway? It's not like "Ranko" was actually transferring from somewhere that could supply paperwork… Now that she thought about it, Yuka made jokes like that a lot. Was she…? No, surely not.

Shooting a glance back at Ranma, she was mildly surprised to see him immediately shoot one back. He shrugged, giving her a wisp of a smile.

Turning back to face the front, her mind returned to Kuno. She deserved thanks for making this go so smoothly. Akane needed to talk to her as soon as possible.

{}

When lunchtime rolled around, 'Ranko' was immediately swarmed by most of the class, which he - should Akane try to think of Ranko as a 'she'? She'd need to ask Ranma about that later. Anyway, Ranko seemed extremely uncomfortable with the attention. Part of Akane wanted to try to help him out, but... Yuka was one of the first to beeline toward Ranko's desk, which made Akane feel emotions she didn't want to deal with. It was no business of hers who Yuka talked to, and yet she couldn't help her feelings, whatever they were. Complicated, at any rate. She wanted no part of them.

It was time to search for Kuno. Fortunately, it wouldn't be too difficult. There'd been several times over the past few years that Akane had looked out the window during lunchtime to see Kuno sitting alone outside, usually under a tree, calmly eating her lunch. Today, she was at her most frequented tree.

"Ah, my dearest Akane!" she said with a start, sitting up straighter as Akane drew near. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

Giving a small shrug, Akane said, "I, uh, well… I wanted to thank you, for helping Ranm- _Ranko_ out. That was… it was really good of you."

Cheeks lightly flushing, Kuno waved the praise away. "Think nothing of it! Truly, it was in my own best interest to help her attend the same school as I, given she is an object of my affection." She gave a small sort of bow, hampered by the fact that she was still sitting. "And, even more truly, it is a pleasure to help two gorgeous, wonderful women such as Ranko and yourself, no matter the task."

An urge formed within Akane, one that swelled so quickly that she could do nothing to stifle it. Words tumbled from her mouth like water let loose from a dam. "Do you want to meet up, after school? At a café or something? Just the two of us?"

What was she _doing_? Why would she _ask_ that? Kuno would think it was a date, which… wasn't it, kind of? Oh jeez, _why_ had she asked to go on a _date_...?

Kuno seemed to be frozen in place, her eyes perfect circles. It didn't seem like she was breathing. Then, suddenly, she was on her feet, grasping Akane's hand like a lifeline.

"I would-" Her breath hitched for a moment. Was she crying? "I would _love_ to."

{}

"This is a lovely little shop you have brought us to!" Kuno said, sipping her drink and gesturing about at the café Akane had brought them to. It was a fairly small building, with a decently-sized seating area. The service was always a bit slow, but Akane didn't mind. She never came here when she was in a rush, anyway.

Setting her own drink down, Akane said, "Yeah, it's the closest place like it to my house. I've been coming here for years." Glaring at her straw and giving it a small flick, she added, "It hasn't been doing too well lately, though. They might have to close up shop."

"Ah," Kuno said, her expression unsure. "Truly, that is a tragedy."

"Yeah," Akane said noncommittally, not making eye contact. "Doing better than that okonomiyaki place a few streets over, at least. I think they've already gone under."

Kuno continued to look unsure of how to react. After a few moments, her expression relaxed back into the soft smile she'd been wearing ever since Akane met up with her after school. Silence reigned for the next few minutes, the only sound at the table a soft 'clink' as Akane's straw knocked ice into the glass with irregular flicks.

"Can I ask you something?" she said, finally looking Kuno in the eye.

Still smiling, Kuno nodded emphatically. "Of course!"

"How…" She paused, struggling for the words. "You like me, right?"

"I adore you!" Kuno said, a little too quickly.

A light smile crossed Akane's lips involuntarily, even as her eyes drifted away. "Of course. But... you like Ranko too, right?"

Again Kuno was quick to answer. "I most certainly do!"

Flicking her straw again, her eyes focusing on the swirling ice, she said, "You want… you'd like to date us, right? Not just one of us, but... both of us?"

Kuno's eyes lit up; her smile seeming to encompass her entire face. " _Nothing_ would make me happier."

It was difficult, but Akane forced her eyes to lock with Kuno's again. "But… how? How can you want to openly date two people? How can you… how could that even work?"

Expression turning pensive, Kuno took a moment to ponder the question. "Well, truly, I cannot say from experience how such a thing would work. This is the first I've ever been on a date," Akane looked away for a moment, but didn't argue, " let alone been in a relationship. What I know is that, right now, my heart longs for two. I could not _possibly_ pick just one of you, when I feel such intense, near overwhelming love for you both. It is my most ardent desire to have the both of you in my life, and to commit myself wholly to your happiness."

It was too much; Akane couldn't maintain eye contact any longer. Her face felt hot, her hands shaky. How could someone be so… so _open_ about that sort of thing? It was mortifying.

But there was one more question she needed to get off her chest before she allowed the conversation to move elsewhere. "Don't you… don't you worry that, focusing on two people, you won't be able to give either of them enough love and attention? That you'll stretch yourself too thin? It seems like most people struggle to maintain a relationship with just _one_ person."

Kuno's expression shifted, becoming more serious than Akane had ever seen it before. Firmly, with no hesitation, she said, "Of course I worry! Surely _everyone_ must worry about their relationship staying the course! But I feel confident that there is _more_ than enough love in my heart to share with the both of you, and I truly believe that, with effort and communication, such a relationship could be legendary."

Silence overtook them again. Using long, slow breaths, Akane attempted to still her heart, which at some point during the conversation had taken to hammering within her chest at double its usual rate. This was all… it was a lot to take in.

"Akane?" Kuno said softly, after a minute or two. "Might we-"

"No," Akane said, eyes flashing back to Kuno's. "I-I'm sorry, but… no." Taking another deep breath, she pushed onwards, before Kuno's face could droop too much in disappointment. "I'm not - I'm still figuring myself out, I guess. I'm not ready for a relationship - _any_ kind of romantic relationship. Not right now, at least."

Kuno nodded sagely, momentary disappointment disappearing instantaneously. "Of course! I understand. If that is how you feel, I will cease in my pursuit of your affection." Despite herself, a part of Akane ached to hear those words. She hoped her face didn't show it. "But, my dear, precious Akane," Kuno continued, reaching out to take her hand. "Know that my heart will _always_ be open to you, should your feelings change."

Smiling, Akane blinked back a tear. "I'll keep it in mind."

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The gayness ramped up! Next time, we'll see how Ranma's been doing.


	8. Good School Day (Ranma's Feelings, Pt I)

Told you the gap would be short! Even shorter than I expected, honestly.

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It was fine. Everything was _fine_. This absurd plan that Ranma had utterly _no_ faith in was going… surprisingly fine. Granted, the only things he'd done so far was introduce himself - 'herself', as far as the class was concerned - and then sit down in his usual seat. But still. Class was continuing normally, and hot water hadn't found its way to him yet, so… things were going pretty smoothly, really.

Movement, to his right. Immediately his body tensed, ready for whatever disaster was incoming. Oh… it was just the student next to him tapping the student in front of her on the shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the two of them whispered excitedly to themselves. The eyes of the one next to him flicked his way, and he quickly pretended something fascinating out the window had caught his attention.

What was her name, anyway? He hadn't learned anyone's name yet in this place. Besides Kuno, if she even counted. ...What were those two saying about him, though? For that matter, what did _anyone_ ever have to say about him? Given how rarely he stuck in any one place for more than a few months (at most), he'd never managed to get a good sense of what others thought of him. Aside from the couple of times that he and Pops had been caught stealing food. People always made their opinions of him _very_ clear in that situation.

Time slipped away much quicker than he was used to. Whenever he glanced at the clock it was at least half an hour later than the time before. Normally, the school day went by _agonizingly_ slow. Was this new fast pace good or bad? On the one hand, it would be amazing if the day was over already, without incident. On the other hand... incidents were inevitable, but less likely while still in class, so the longer class lasted, the better.

Also, what was he supposed to say during lunch, if someone talked to him? If they asked about his life? Did "Ranko" have the same life as Ranma? ...Did it matter? No one at this school had bothered approaching him to chat in his normal form, so why would they now?

Bells. Bells were chiming. Was it lunch already? Damn, he hadn't thought about what he'd do for lunch. Kasumi had probably made him something, like usual, but with Akane dragging him out of the house, he hadn't been able to-

"Ranko, hi!" said a voice to his right. "I'm Ayami, pleased to meet you!" The voice was very, very near. He turned his head, realizing with shock that the girl that sat next to him was suddenly standing only a few centimeters from his desk, staring down at him with a smile. His brain froze, attempting to comprehend the situation. She'd never said a _word_ to him before! Why now?

"Hey, Ranko! I'm Hiroyo, pleased to meet ya!" said the girl Ayami had been whispering with earlier, also standing _very_ near to Ranma's desk. W-what…? Why was this…?

With horror, Ranma realized that he was surrounded. Near half the class was suddenly swarming his desk, smiling and introducing themselves in a way they never had when he looked like a boy.

"Ranko, are you okay?" Ayami said worriedly.

His face. He wasn't thinking about his face. Undoubtedly, he looked just as terrified as he felt. But showing an opponent weakness meant defeat. He had to get it together.

Expression sliding into his best attempt at a casual smile, Ranma said, "Oh, yeah, sorry! Just surprised there's so many friendly people here!"

"Aw, what mean kinda classmates did you have before, to think we're so friendly?" Hiroyo said, with a brief look of concern.

A sharp intake of breath sounded somewhere behind his head. "Is that why you didn't start here at the same time as your brother? Were they mean to you at your last school?"

With a small wave of his hands and a smaller laugh, Ranma said, "Oh, no no! They just weren't all so… _interested_ in greeting me on my first day, is all!"

Several members of the group laughed at that. Another girl that had never spoken to Ranma before leaned forward, eyes flicking briefly toward the top of his head. "I love your hair, it makes you look so _cute_!"

Internally, Ranma froze once again, though he managed to keep the semi-casual smile plastered to his face. Ranma had been called cute several times throughout his life, all of them (that he could remember) _after_ the curse and while in girl mode. But most of those times, it had been some (usually creepy) guy, and it'd done nothing but make him uncomfortable. Girls were constantly saying "your panda is cute", but only once before now could he recall a girl using "cute" to describe _him_.

His father had been sleeping in a park in some city Ranma no longer remembered the name of, and Ranma, stomach growling, had ventured to a nearby food cart to see what the measly change he had on hand could get him. The girl running the cart, who looked to be around his age, had taken pity on his poor, hungry tummy, giving him a full meal despite him not having nearly enough money to buy it. "You remind me of someone I used to know," she'd said. "But way cuter." Then she'd winked, and Ranma had almost dropped the food that he'd already started shoveling into his mouth.

"Cute hair for a cute girl - it only makes sense," said a familiar voice back in the present. Yuka, one of Akane's friends, had pushed through the small crowd, and was smirking down at him. He had no idea why. "Sorry to interrupt, but the principal needs to talk to you. Got a few more details to iron out for your transfer!"

Oh! Really? Mrs. Kuno had seemed pretty sure that everything was taken care of, when they'd talked earlier. Maybe she'd missed something?

"Sorry, I should go see what that's about," he said, getting to his feet once Ayami scooted back. The crowd gave a collective "aw" as he softly pushed through them, which caused something to tug at him inside. Was he sad to disappoint them, for some reason? ...Maybe he could try to lift their spirits?

Turning back to face the lingering crowd, he beamed, hands on his hips. "Don't worry! I'll be back later. I'm sure we can talk more then!" A few of them, including Ayami, perked up at that, making his heart swell.

A moment later, he was out in the hallway following Yuka, and belatedly realizing that Sayuri was tagging along too. He really needed to get his head back in the game if regular high schoolers were continuously surprising him.

"So what'd Mrs. Kuno need?" he asked as they made their way down the hallway at a brisk pace.

Chuckling, Yuka turned to face him, continuing to walk, except backwards. She still wore that smirk. "Oh, that was a lie. Just figured you wanted to get away from the crowd!"

Coming to a quick stop, Ranma stared in awe at her for a moment, before breaking out in laughter. "What, really!? That's amazing!" Yuka looked thrilled with his reaction, and he heard Sayuri giggle behind him. "Why'd you wanna help me out like that?"

"Psh!" Yuka rolled her eyes. "Why not? You looked _terrified_ to be there, and you're friends with Akane, so…"

"It's the least we can do," Sayuri finished.

"Speaking of Akane…" Wrapping an arm around Ranma's shoulder, Yuka pulled him into an empty classroom, Sayuri softly shutting the door behind them. Pulling away a little, Yuka put a hand on either of Ranma's shoulders. "She didn't tell us a dang thing about you! Like, at all. We didn't even know you existed! Any idea why _that_ might be?"

She was still smirking, and he wished he could figure out why. His eyes flitted about the room, as though the answer to Yuka's question could be found somewhere within. "Oh, uh… I mean, I haven't really been there that long, and she and I haven't really, uh, talked that much…"

There was something intimidating about the way Yuka looked down at him from beneath her bangs, her smirk ever widening. "Yeah, she gave me a similar story. I mean, it was pretty different, but similar in the way that it was obvious BS."

"Yuka," said Sayuri, like a mother rebuking a misbehaving child.

Holding her hands up like she'd been caught, Yuka took a step back, that grin still on her face. "Sorry, bit strong there, I know." Ranma's eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them. He hadn't been able to nail down their dynamic yet, but it was odd, to say the least.

"You don't need to tell us anything you don't want to," Sayuri said, smiling sweetly. "We're just eager to get to know you! And Akane usually tells us things, so it's a little odd for us that she didn't mention you… and that she seems to be fudging the truth about why."

Offering a small shrug, Ranma said, "It's fine, don't worry 'bout it. Look, I dunno why she didn't talk 'bout me. She didn't tell me I was a secret to you two before she brought me here."

Nodding eagerly, Yuka said, "I figured as much. Hey, uh, unrelated, but… how friendly she been with you, anyway? You two talked much since you started living there?"

This felt like a good time for honesty. "We've talked some… especially when I first got there. She soured a little after that, though… I'm not sure she likes me that much, really."

If Yuka's smile grew anymore it'd take up her entire face. Sayuri seemed happy too, but then, that seemed to be pretty normal for her.

"She probably doesn't mind you too much," Yuka said. Her heavy gaze finally moved away from him, settling on her fingernails, which she'd suddenly decided to examine. "So, uh… what about _you_? How you feel about her?"

Huh. How _did_ he feel about her? "I, uh… I'm not sure. She can be really angry and violent, but…" The ghost of a smile flitted across his face. "She can be really nice, too. Especially when we first met… she seemed so happy that I was a girl." His face went dark for a moment, as he stared at a nondescript portion of the floor tiles. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone. "She's had her moments since then too, to be honest. Helped me out a few times. She's… she's alright."

Sayuri's hands were pressed together right in front of her mouth for some reason, and Yuka was as strangely ecstatic as she'd been practically this whole time, her eyes firmly back upon him. After a moment, she spoke up again. "Hey, uh, unrelated again, but… Heh, sorry if this is awkward, you don't have to answer. I was just wondering, have you…. dated before?"

Despite himself, Ranma could feel his cheeks flushing. "N-no, I, uh… I haven't."

Nodding a little too much, Yuka said, "Right, right! That's fine, no worries! But if you _were_ gonna date someone, are you into-"

Taking a step forward, Sayuri said, "Yuka, stop grilling the poor girl. It's lunchtime, she's probably starving. Do you want to go get some food with us, Ranko?"

Ranko! That's right… that was his name right now. He was… he was pretending to be a girl right now. He'd almost forgotten. "Yeah, that sounds great!"

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The rest of the day passed remarkably quickly, and went remarkably well. Yuka and Sayuri continued hanging around without him even having to ask, providing a bit of a buffer from the oddly large number of people that wanted to talk to him. He enjoyed talking to these new people, which was something he never would have anticipated, but it could get to be too much. It was nice to have friends there to cover for him when he got overwhelmed.

When it came time to head home, his new friends insisted on walking with him the whole way. Yet another thing he never thought he'd actually want.

The only weird thing was that Akane wasn't a part of it. She's been notably absent all day, really. She was nowhere to be found during lunch, and after school, she'd only spoken briefly to him, to let him know she was going to a café with Kodachi Kuno, of all people.

He still wasn't sure what to think of Kodachi. On the one hand, she'd really helped him out today, and she seemed to be genuinely attracted to him, at least in this form. On the other hand, she'd nearly mangled his face with a trick bokken, and it was hard to ignore something like that.

"So, do you just _like_ wearing baggy clothes, or what?" Yuka said, hands behind her head. They were a good three-fourths of the way to Ranma's current home, and Yuka had been throwing out random questions like that nearly the entire time they'd been walking. Sayuri had tried to stop her, but Ranma insisted it was fine. The questions had made him uncomfortable at first, but over the course of the school day Ranma had discovered that Yuka and Sayuri were both remarkably easy to talk to, at least while he was using this fake identity.

"I mean, I don't _hate_ it," he said, pursing his lips. "Can make fighting difficult sometimes, though."

"Why don't you get more fitted clothes, then?" Yuka said, more irritated than confused.

The real answer, of course, was that his clothes were fitted, but not for this body. But he'd already resolved not to tell them about the curse - it would just ruin a good thing - so that explanation was out. "They're all hand-me-downs from my brother… Pops says we don't got the money to buy me new clothes."

Yuka frowned. From what Ranma could tell, there were only three expressions Yuka ever wore - a blank stare, a frown, and, of course, her trademark smirk. That smirk didn't seem to pop up nearly as often when she talked to people other than him and Sayuri, though. "Well that's no good. Sayuri and I have _got_ to take you shopping soon."

"Most definitely!" Sayuri said, nodding eagerly.

Almost immediately, Yuka shuffled over to Sayuri's side, looping an arm around the other girl's. The two of them started whispering quickly to each other, though neither of them made an effort to talk quietly enough that Ranma couldn't hear. He didn't understand much of it anyway, with all the clothing store name drops.

His eyes drifted to their entwined arms. This was far from the first time today that he'd seen them do that. Not to mention the hand-holding. Was that just a thing girls did with each other once they'd been friends long enough? Or… were Akane's friends literally dating each other? It seemed rude to ask, but maybe Akane knew? He'd have to ask later.

Soon enough they arrived at the entrance to the Tendo Dojo, and Yuka and Sayuri said their goodbyes. Part of him was sad to see them go, but the other part had already decided that, as soon as he was alone, he was headed straight for that café. Akane could take care of herself, and he couldn't imagine Kuno would purposefully hurt her, but still, the fact that they had gone alone together was weird, and he wanted to be sure it'd turned out alright.

He reached Akane before he reached the café. She seemed to have just left, given she was only a few paces away from the building. He could actually still see Kuno a little ways off in the other direction, talking to someone he didn't recognize.

"Hey, your date finished?" he said when he was close enough, with a cocky grin.

"Yep, sure is," she replied, with a small smile and no hint of sarcasm. The tension in his body melted away as he realized that not only was she not attacking him for his joke, but she hadn't even taken it _as_ a joke. ...So it _was_ a date!?

"Wait, so, uh…" His hands gesticulated wildly. "What was up with this whole thing? Were you _actually_ on a date?"

Despite her narrowing eyes, Akane maintained a light smile. "It's not really your business, is it? She and I needed to talk, so we did. We had a nice time." She waved her hand dismissively and started walking forward, past Ranma.

Even though he'd entered the conversation with the intent to get a rise out of her, he suddenly felt sick at the thought that he'd genuinely hurt her somehow. Scrambling after her, he rushed to get in front, then started walking backwards. "Hey, uh, didn't mean ta upset ya…"

Her shrug was so short that, if he hadn't been staring directly at her, there was no way he would have caught it. "You didn't. I've just got a lot on my mind." She'd been staring right past him this whole time, but then she surprised him with sudden, purposeful eye contact. "Oh, almost forgot. Kodachi asked about that stuffed panda she apparently gave you. She wanted to know if you gave it to 'Ranko.'"

Ranma's eyes quickly shifted away from hers. "Oh, uh… I tossed it in a bush by the school, around where we fought."

With a small frown, Akane said, "Hm. She said she looked around there, expecting you to do something 'so rude', but she couldn't find it."

Shrugging, eyes still off to the side, he muttered, "Dunno. Someone else musta nabbed-"

"'Scuse me!" said an unfamiliar voice. The person Ranma had seen Kuno talking to was lightly jogging toward them, waving and giving them a friendly smile.

Akane and Ranma both stopped and turned to look at him. His clothes were yellow and black, as was the bandana running through his short dark hair. He carried a backpack with a red umbrella sitting atop it. Perhaps his single most defining attribute, however, at least to Ranma, was that two of his teeth stuck out more than the rest, giving him little fangs. It was kinda silly, but also kinda cute, in a weird way. There was something strangely familiar about it, as though Ranma had seen a cartoon character or something with a similar look before.

"Sorry to bother you, but the nice woman back there," he pointed at the slowly retreating Kodachi, "told me the 'red-haired goddess over there' could help me out."

Both Ranma and Akane rolled their eyes, though they both wore small smiles, too. "What does she think I can help ya with?" Ranma said.

"Well, I've been searchin' for someone for a while. This guy called Ranma Saotome." Ranma's blood went cold. "You have any idea where I could find him?"

Crap. What was the best play here? This guy seemed friendly, but Ranma didn't remember him, and he had yet to encounter someone that was seeking him out who just wanted a friendly chat. Their intentions were usually much more violent. But Kodachi had already pointed directly to him, so it'd be weird if he tried to say he had no idea, wouldn't it? Well, he'd already been running one particular lie all day, might as well keep it up.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm his sister, actually."

This seemed to throw the boy for a loop. He reeled back in shock, then leaned back in even closer, eyes wide. "He's got a _sister_? I had no idea!" He leaned back a little, as though he'd realized he was too close, and then stuck his hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you! I'm Ryoga. Maybe he's mentioned-?"

Not taking the hand, and giving no expression save a blank stare, Ranma said, "Nope, never heard of you."

Ryoga's hand fell, along with his face. He made no attempt to hide his irritation. "Ugh, well, anyway... Could you give him something for me?" Without waiting for a response, he swung his pack around and started digging through it, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out after a few seconds. He pushed it into Ranma's hands, entirely too eagerly.

"Uh… sure, I guess." Ranma said, confused and annoyed in equal measure. He glanced down at the poorly-scrawled message. Just as he'd suspected, it was a challenge letter.

Well if it was a challenge this guy wanted, Ranma would be sure to provide. He looked back up to tell Ryoga as much, but to his surprise, the boy was staring at the sky, crying, a look of utter triumph on his face.

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Oh gosh I'm so happy to finally have Ryoga in this fic. Now if I can just get to... all the others.


	9. Waiting&Shopping (Ranma's Feelings,PtII)

The conversation with Ryoga didn't last long past him handing off the challenge letter. "Ranko" said she was sure her "brother" would accept, and Ryoga declared the fight would be "at noon tomorrow, in front of Furinkan High. Assuming the coward doesn't run away again." Ranma only barely restrained himself from punching the jerk in his stupid face.

"You're sure about this?" Akane asked, as the two of them returned to the Tendo residence.

With the smallest of shrugs, Ranma said, "These sorta problems don't go away by ignorin' 'em. If a fight'll get him off my back, then I'm game. Least he's not tryin' ta kill me."

Silence.

After a few moments, Akane softly said, " _Are_ there people like that?"

"Huh?" he said, glancing at her.

She looked concerned; he hated when she looked at him like that. "Trying to kill you, I mean."

He looked away, refusing to look back even though he could feel her eyes boring holes into the side of his head. Trying for as even an expression and tone as he could manage, he said, "One, at least, yeah."

Given the next day was a school day, Ranma had little choice but to skip, to ensure he was available for the fight. Akane made her disapproval of this decision known - loudly - but she had no hope of dissuading him. This was what had to be done.

He didn't bother leaving the house until about 11, figuring he'd get there a bit early, just in case. But he needn't have worried. Noon came and went, with no sign of the fang-toothed challenger. Ranma was no child, though - just because his opponent was late didn't mean he was going to flake out on the fight. He'd wait all day if need be.

An hour later, he was already regretting that decision. He'd gone through several stretches and katas while waiting, wanting to keep his body primed, but waiting around like this was _indescribably_ boring. "That jerk better show soon," he grumbled quietly to himself.

By the time the school bell rang to signal the end of the day, Ranma was dozing on the sun-baked ground, leaning against the wall that bordered the school with his legs and arms crossed. He awoke with a start when someone lightly kicked his foot.

"Huh-wha?" he mumbled, staring up at Akane with bleary eyes.

"You're still out here?" she said, arms crossed and a frown on her face. "It's been _hours_ since you were supposed to fight."

Pushing himself to his feet, Ranma stretched a little, not answering at first. "...Yeah, he never showed."

"What a jerk," Akane said, frown deepening. After a moment, her expression suddenly shifted to a warm smile. "Do you wanna walk home, then?"

Sighing, Ranma shook his head side-to-side. "Nah. I mean, I'd like to, but I'm gonna keep waiting."

" _Still_?" she said, incredulous. "You _really_ think he's going to show?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. If I can just get this over with, I won't hafta worry about it no more, so…"

It was Akane's turn to sigh, which she followed with a roll of the eyes. "Fine… _I'm_ heading home, though. See you later."

By the time the sun had set and a chill had begun blowing through the air, Ranma found his regret had grown to monstrous size. He should've brought a blanket. ...Except why the hell would he have thought to do _that_ , when the fight was supposed to be at _noon_!? Ugh, this whole thing was ridiculous. Whatever Ryoga's reason to pick a fight was, Ranma felt sure it was stupid, and not worth all this.

Pouting, he sat back down on the ground and pulled his knees to his chest, shivering. This sucked. If the asshole would just finally _show_ , then he could say that wasting the entire day was at least a _little_ bit worth it. He glared daggers at the ground a few feet away, as though it were the ground's fault that Ryoga didn't stand upon it.

"Still nothing?" said a soft voice from behind. He didn't have to look to know it was Akane.

"Y-yeah," he muttered, teeth chattering.

Her feet stopped right next to him, and a moment later, he felt something warm being draped over his shoulders. He glanced from side to side, surprised that he was now covered by a blanket. When he looked back toward Akane, he found she'd taken a seat right next to him, and that she was wearing a cute yellow jacket. Also, she gripped something in her hands… something pink.

"For you," she said, jutting her arms out. It was a small pink lunch box, with Akane's name written in sharpie on the side. He took it and flipped it open, his face lighting up in ecstacy.

Stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets, Akane looked away, at nothing in particular. "It's probably a bit cold now, but I figured you hadn't eaten since this morning."

Before she was even halfway through the sentence, Ranma had started stuffing the food into his mouth, making absolutely _no_ attempt to do so politely. After swallowing a particularly large mouthful, he looked over at her and smiled a big, goofy grin.

"It's delicious! Gotta make sure to thank Kasumi later." He looked away again, stuffing some more food into his face, only realizing a moment later that he'd forgotten something. After swallowing his food again, and without looking at her, he quietly added, "And, um… thanks to _you_ , too. I really... 'preciate it." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smile. It made him feel… light.

They sat in relative silence for a while, aside from Ranma's disgusting mouth sounds as he finished inhaling his food. Once it was gone, he closed the box, wiped his mouth off on his sleeve, and pulled his knees up again, resting his chin on them.

"...Are you going to wait all night?" Akane asked.

"If that's what it takes."

Silence, again. Then, without warning, he felt an unexpected weight push against his side. A small cloud of exhaled air floated nearby, and he felt the weight against him shift as Akane made herself comfortable. Part of him was screaming that either he or she needed to move, that this was too much, that this uncute girl needed to _back off_ and not assume he was okay with… with _this_. But then the other part of him… didn't mind it. _Welcomed_ it, even. Afterall, he could use the extra body heat... and it didn't have to _mean_ anything.

The latter part won out.

Silence reigned as time continued to pass all too slowly. Ranma couldn't even venture a guess at how long they continued to wait - it _felt_ like an eternity. Once or twice he thought he heard something - footsteps - but no one ever appeared. At some point, Akane started softly snoring, her weight pressing even harder against his side. Admittedly, it was… kinda cute. In an irritating sort of way.

Finally, it hit him, out of nowhere. Letting loose an annoyed groan, he lightly shook Akane awake.

"Izzhe here?" she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"No," Ranma said, helping her to her feet. "He's not coming. Not anytime soon, at least."

After a big yawn, she looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. "You're sure of that, suddenly?"

"Yeah." He sighed, irritation in every line of his face. "I remember this idiot."

The next day, Ranma decided to attend school like normal. There was no point waiting around for Ryoga - Ranma remembered now that the guy had such an awful sense of direction that he could get lost in his own home. He could show up today, tomorrow, a month from now… there was no telling. And there was no point in Ranma putting his life on hold for something that could happen at any time.

It was odd, though, returning to school after his day spent there as "Ranko." All of a sudden he was back to being mostly ignored, and he hadn't expected to be bothered by that. In fact, he'd expected to _enjoy_ it… yet that wasn't what was happening. He actually _missed_ the attention, and he didn't know what to do with that fact. There wasn't much he _could_ do about it right now, really.

The ringing of the lunch bell that day made him happier than it ever had in his life. It was such a relief to get away from his desk that Ranma paid little attention to where he was going until he realized, with a start, that he was standing next to Yuka.

"Can I… help you, Saotome?" she said, looking at him with a mix of confusion and irritation. Now that he was paying attention, it looked like her, Sayuri, and Akane had all been fixing to leave the room, and now all three of them were staring at him in confusion.

"Oh, uh… I was just…" He was just going to, what, sit with them like the other day? Chat with them, like they were all friends? But they weren't. _Ranko_ was, but not him. Not _Ranma_. "I just... needed to talk to Akane, sorry."

Yuka shrugged, and Akane walked over, more annoyed than confused. " _What_?"

"I… just wanted to thank you for last night?" he said, with an insincere smile. She stared at him as though he had just asked her to solve an impossible riddle.

"You're… welcome?" They stared at each other for a few more seconds before abruptly turning away and walking in different directions.

The next day, on the way to school, Ranma happened to get splashed by that plant-watering old lady. Since they were doing well on time, Akane said they could stop by Dr. Tofu's for some hot water, but Ranma waved the suggestion off. "I'll just deal with it," he said.

The rest of that week, and for the week after that, Ranma went back and forth each day with his forms, quickly finding that days spent as Ranko were always more enjoyable. Akane had been a little weird about it at first, now that she was hanging with Yuka and Sayuri again, but she and Ranma quickly settled into a friendly rhythm. He found that they tended to fight a lot less on Ranko days, too.

Ranko days were also _much_ better for dealing with Kuno. Whenever Kuno locked eyes with _Ranma_ , her expression immediately soured, and on more than one occasion she had marched over and demanded a fight. Ranma always refused - he wasn't dealing with her dirty tactics again if he could help it. But on Ranko days, Kuno's looks were filled with love and desire, and it made Ranko feel ways that she didn't fully understand... but mostly liked. Kuno often professed her love for Ranko loud enough for the whole school to hear, and though Ranko never returned the sentiment, she did nothing to discourage it, either.

The second week since the whole Ranko thing started, Yuka grew even more insistent about taking her on a shopping trip. By the end of that week, Ranko finally agreed to it.

"You're sure about this?" Akane said on Saturday morning, arms crossed.

"I mean no, but, like, Yuka won't shut up 'bout it, and I agreed, so I gotta." Staring at Akane defiantly with his hands on his wide hips, Ranma added, "A _man_ doesn't go back on his word."

Akane cocked an eyebrow. "You're _really_ gonna throw that line at me? Looking like _that_ , and in _this_ situation?"

Crossing his arms and poking his tongue at her, Ranma said, "Ain't nothin' more manly than facin' your fears."

Akane continued to stare, unimpressed. "Is it the shopping or the clothes that you're scared of?"

Throwing his hands up, Ranma marched toward the door. "Ya just don't get it."

Shopping with Yuka and Sayuri was _slightly_ less nerve-wracking that Ranko had anticipated. The fact that Akane had chosen to sit this one out was probably a big factor in that; it would've been _much_ more difficult with her judging eyes watching Ranko's every move.

Still, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable just _existing_ in the women's section of a store. Actively _browsing_ one was terrifying, like she was doing something inherently wrong and being judged for it by unseen, knowing eyes. Yuka instructed her to "chill" many, many times, to minimal effect.

Ranko made it clear early on that she was particularly uncomfortable with the more overtly "girly" things, and fortunately, Yuka and Sayuri seemed receptive to that. They did their best to find the most unisex, non-frilly items that they could, and Ranko appreciated it more than she managed to say.

But, eventually, they ended up looking at what Ranko most dreaded - underwear. Despite her pleas to avoid it, Yuka insisted.

"When was the last time you bought a bra?" she said, glaring. "Sometime when you, your dad, and your brother were walking all over the world?"

Ranko's mind briefly flashed back to a hurried trip into a tiny Chinese clothing store, where she'd spent all of a minute looking for a bra that 'looked about right' before buying it and leaving as quickly as she could. She'd never bought another.

"Um… yes."

"Yeah, and I doubt _those_ two were any help." She gestured at herself and Sayuri. "We know way more about bra shopping than they do, I'm sure, so c'mon, let us help!"

With a deep, defeated sigh, Ranko nodded. "Okay."

The other two girls picked out two or three different bras, tending toward those of the 'sports' variety. "Since you're so physically active," Sayuri said.

Once alone in the dressing room, Ranko begrudgingly took her old bra off, and then grabbed one of the new ones. This seemed much easier to put on - she hated putting her old one on backwards, clasping it, and then pulling it around and over her boobs. So tedious. This one she could just slip on like a shirt, it seemed like. A tight shirt... but still.

She got it on with minimal effort, and then glanced at the mirror. It always felt so strange to see herself in this form. Especially so… exposed. And wearing a bra. She had tried _so_ hard to avoid wearing one, hating the very idea of it. But the pain in her back that started forming insisted she reconsider. At least this new one looked less girly, even if it didn't feel any more comfortable. That was just how bras were, she supposed.

Pulling the bra off, she glanced down at the other two. The idea of wasting more time trying them both on to achieve the same result drove her up the wall, but recent experience had taught her that if she left the dressing room too soon Yuka would just send her right back. So, reluctantly, she grabbed another one, and pulled it on.

Her eyes went wide. This… this was different. This felt… _right_. It didn't feel tight against her breasts like the other two. She could breathe comfortably, _move_ comfortably. She'd gotten so used to physical discomfort being the norm when in girl mode, that this newfound lack of it felt like one of the most amazing things that had ever happened to her. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She never wanted to take it off.

Hurriedly, but reluctantly, she yanked it off anyway, and threw her shirt on, practically sprinting out of the room. Sayuri was patiently waiting outside, with Yuka not too far off, browsing. Ranko rushed up to them, brandishing the comfy bra like a prize fish.

"I want five!" she said, beaming.

A while later, after Sayuri had been kind enough to buy Ranko's bras ("I've got money, don't worry about it."), Ranko waited patiently as Yuka browsed in another, women-focused shop. At this point, she was doing it more for herself than for Ranko, but that was fine, Ranko had no problem waiting, especially after all the help her friends had given her. But then, a certain yellow-bandana-clad head popped into view.

"Oh no," she said, her face mirroring the dread that gripped her heart. Why here? Why now?

He looked her way, and she felt her heart drop. A smile appeared on his face, and he waved, immediately heading for her. "Oh, Ranko! I can't believe I found you!"

"I can't either," she mumbled, before he was close enough to hear.

Smiling sweetly like she always did when meeting someone new, Sayuri said, "Is this a friend of yours?"

"I wouldn't say-"

"Yeah!" Ryoga said, seemingly not noticing that Ranko was talking. "We met, um… a while ago?" His face scrunched in concentration. "How long ago _was_ that?"

Ranko glared daggers at him. "Almost _two weeks_."

"Hah, was it!?" He laughed a little - a loud, rumbling sort of thing. "Time tends to blur together when you're travelin'."

"I'll bet," Ranko muttered under her breath.  
Expression turning to sorrow, Ryoga said, "Hey, so, I'm sorry I missed the fight I was s'pposed to have with your brother. I _wanted_ to be there, I just-"

"Got lost?" Ranko finished, still glaring.

He stared at the ground, expression dark. "Yes. I used to consider it my curse, before…" He trailed off.

The conversation seemed to have caught Yuka's ear, as she was suddenly standing with the rest of them, staring up at the fang-toothed boy. "You got lost and ended up _here_?" She gestured around at all the women's clothes. Ryoga's eyes followed her arm movements, and went wide as realization struck. His cheeks flushed, and he suddenly seemed incredibly nervous.

"Oh, uh, yes. I should… I should go." Before he did so, however, he paused, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. His eyelids snapped open, and he stared directly into Ranko's eyes, a fierce determination burning within his own. "Despite all that, I still fully intend to fight Ranma! Tell him that tomorrow, for sure, I'll meet him outside Furinkan High, at noon!"

She wanted to believe him. He clearly meant it, even if it was a promise he couldn't keep. She sighed. "Fine, I'll tell him."

"Thank you so much!" he cried, grabbing her hand and shaking it vigorously. "I'm going to head straight there, and wait until our fight. _Nothing_ will stop me!"

He let her hand go and stuck a foot out, face filled with determination. Then he walked directly toward the dressing rooms.


	10. The Ryoga Problem (Fight Me!, Part I)

The day after meeting Ryoga in a women's clothing store, Ranma stood outside Furinkan High, arms crossed. He gazed at the school's clocktower, eyes squinting in the sunlight. It was nearly 1pm, and Ryoga was, unsurprisingly, nowhere to be seen. His face the picture of boredom, Ranma continued staring at the distant clock, counting the seconds as they slowly ticked by. 1pm. That was the latest he would wait. The moment the minute hand hit the giant number twelve, he booked it, not willing to waste another second that day on the directionless loser.

The days after that passed pleasantly. By Wednesday, Ranma managed to completely forget about Ryoga, just in time to catch sight of him during lunch in a hallway on the second floor of the school.

Staring at the boy incredulously, Ranma, currently Ranko, marched up to him, scowling. "Ryoga!"

He turned sharply to meet her, taken completely by surprise. "Ranko! You go to school in Kagoshima?"

"I…" Her glare instensified. "This is Furinkan, you idiot."

Eyes lighting up, Ryoga beamed. "It is!? Is your brother here!?"

Looking to the side for a split second, Ranko said, "Uh, no… not today." For a moment, she considered if it'd be worth it to go change somewhere nearby just to get the stupid fight over with... but it'd raise too many questions. Her teacher had already commented, more than once, on how unlucky it was that both Saotome siblings never seemed to be feeling well on the same day. "We keep catching each other's sick," Ranko explained, hoping the excuse would last. She'd have to start varying how many days in a row she attended school as either "sibling"... going back and forth each day wasn't going to go unnoticed much longer.

Balling his hands into fists, Ryoga said, "Damn! Well, I'll be waiting right outside. Tell him to meet me!" Before she could try to stop him, he bounded away, disappearing around a corner.

That was the last time she saw him… that week.

The following week, on a Thursday afternoon, Ranma was heading toward a café exit when the door swung open forcefully, knocking his drink right into his face.

"Ranko!" a familiar and unwelcome voice shouted. Ryoga stood in the doorway, staring at the now red-headed Ranma. "I'm so glad I found you! Your brother isn't here, is he?"

The rage burning within Ranma was tempered by the utter despair he felt while staring at his spilled beverage. "It's all gone…" he said quietly, eyes still on the cup.

"Oh no, you're all wet!" Ryoga said, eyes wide. "We should get you cleaned up!"

Ranma had no idea where Ryoga intended to do that, but apparently it was somewhere outside, as the idiot went right back out the door.

The next Ryoga sighting came remarkably quickly. Just two days after the café incident, Ranko walked into the changing room outside the furo, and directly into Ryoga. She tumbled to the ground, feeling like she's just run into a brick wall.

She heard a gasp, and looked up to see Ryoga staring at her, face bright red. Oh, right, she was still naked.

"Stop starin', ya perv!"

Shaking his head, the bandana-clad boy averted his eyes and offered a hand to help Ranko up. She slapped it away, rising to her feet by herself.

Keeping his eyes off her, his face still red as a beet, Ryoga said, "U-uh, so, R-Ranko... it's good to see you!"

Her eyes narrowed. "Crappy choice of words."

Beads of sweat formed on Ryoga's brow, his hands fumbling nervously with themselves. "S-s-sorry, I… Do you have any idea where I am?"

"In my friggin' house," Ranko said, crossing her arms but doing nothing to cover herself. "I mean, technically it's not _my_ house, but I'm stayin' in it."

That familiar light appeared in Ryoga's eyes, even as they continued to look anywhere but at Ranko. "D-does that mean your brother is here too!?"

She grimaced. "He's… out. If you gimme a few minutes-"

"No problem!" Ryoga said, smiling awkwardly. "I'll just wait, um, o-outside..."

"Wait, don't-" But he was already out the door. Throwing on a change of clothes, Ranko tore the door open, but sure enough, Ryoga was nowhere to be found.

"...Dammit."

Three weeks later, Ranko was out shopping with Yuka and Sayuri again. She wasn't buying much this time around, but it was fun to hang out with her friends anyway. It was _less_ fun to be back in a women's clothing store, though. She'd been dropping subtle hints for the past ten minutes that she wanted Yuka to hurry up.

"You almost done?" Ranko said for the sixth time, hovering near Yuka as she looked at the clearance section.

Not sparing Ranko a glance, Yuka said, "From now on, each time you ask that I'm staying here another minute."

Dammit. Pouting, Ranko turned away, only to lock eyes with Ryoga, standing a few meters away.

"Fuck."

Surprised by Ranko's curse, Yuka turned to look at her, and then to look in the direction she was staring. "Oh, it's that guy from a while ago! Didn't we meet him in this same store?" She frowned. "...He doesn't work here, does he?"

"No, he's just a moron," Ranko grumbled, stomping toward the lost boy, who hadn't seen her yet.

As she drew near, he finally took notice, breaking into a familiar smile. "Ran-"

Clamping a hand over his mouth, Ranko said, "No! No, we're done with that. We've gone in a damn circle with this thing, and it's over now!"

Ryoga looked utterly confused, not to mention embarrassed. When Ranko removed her hand, she found his cheeks were lightly flushed and his smile had gone goofy. "I-I didn't realize we had a… a _thing_ …" he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Ranko clamped a hand over his mouth again. "That's enough outta you. Now look, I'm not lettin' you outta my sight until we get back to the Dojo." His eyes widened. "Yeah, _we_. You're comin' home with me, and stayin' there 'til you and me - ahem, _my brother_ \- have your fight."

Strong hands wrapped around Ranko's, pulling her hand away and squeezing it tight. "You would do that for - for me!?" Tears welled up in his eyes. "Never would I have expected such kindness! Your brother doesn't deserve a sibling so incredible, so compassionate!"

Despite how overwhelmingly irritated Ranko was about this entire situation, there was something strangely endearing about Ryoga. Not that she'd ever admit it. Sighing deeply, she wrenched her hand away. "I, um… thanks, I guess. Look, just… just stay right here, I need to talk to-"

"Oh, I've been standing behind you this whole time," Yuka said, wearing a shit-eating grin. Sayuri stood next to her, also throwing a huge smile Ranko's way.

"What!? Why didn't you say-"

"Psh, like we were gonna interrupt _that_?" Yuka said, still grinning. "That was so good I'd have _paid_ for it, if they were selling tickets."

"We're just happy for you, is all!" Sayuri said, as though that made the situation any better.

Feeling like she was losing her mind, Ranko gripped her head with one hand, wishing she could just tear it off. "We're not - _I'm_ not... what's happening here is _not_ what you're thinking!"

Their smiles made it crystal clear they didn't believe her. Rolling her eyes dramatically, she turned back to Ryoga, who stood there looking confused. As he did.

"We're leavin', okay? I'll talk ta you two later." She grabbed Ryoga's hand, and immediately heard a gasp from Sayuri. Grinding her teeth, she didn't bother looking back as she yelled, "I gotta, okay! He'll get lost otherwise! ...It's _not_ anythin' else!"

Giggles followed after her; why did she even bother?

Aside from some sputtering, Ryoga didn't make a sound as Ranko led him home. She glared back at him a couple times, but he always looked away, seemingly too nervous to do otherwise. It was exasperating… why didn't she hate it more?

Finally arriving back at the Tendo estate, Ranko led Ryoga directly to the dojo, stopping in her tracks a few meters inside when she noticed Akane there, practicing katas. It shouldn't have been surprising, but in fairness, her mind was all over the place tonight.

"You found him!" Akane said, wiping the sweat from her brow and breathing heavy. The sleeve of her gi rode up as she did so, revealing a glistening bicep, partially flexed.

"Y-yeah," Ranko said, transfixed.

Eyes following Ranko's gaze, Akane realized where the other girl was looking with a start. Snapping her arm downwards, her cheeks flushed more than they already had from the workout. "Ranm - R-ranko?"  
Finally snapping out of it, Ranko shook her head and looked to Ryoga. He, too, was staring, though when he noticed Ranko had turned his way, he blushed and cast his eyes to the ground.

"Uuuuuggghhh." Ranko dropped his hand and stomped toward Akane. She was _so_ done with this awkward blushing crap. "Could I getta word - _outside_?"

Blinking in surprise, Akane nodded, slowly.

Ranko turned on her heel to face Ryoga " _You_! Stay here! Don't ya _dare_ try ta go _anywhere else_ , 'kay!?" He gave no argument.

Outside, Ranko explained the situation to Akane in as few words as possible, and with minimal eye contact, her exasperation worn on her sleeve.

"Okay, I got it. I'll go let everyone else know." Her eyes flicked across Ranko's body. "I assume you're going to get some hot water first?"

Sighing, Ranko said, "Yeah. I gotta talk to this guy as my normal self, finally." After a brief nod, Akane ran off, and Ranko stuck her head back into the dojo. Ryoga was standing in the same spot as she'd left him, staring around the room. "Hey!" His eyes snapped to hers. "I'm gonna go get my brother, so… yeah, just stay there."

"Okay!" he said, smiling wide and giving a little wave. She _hated_ that dopey grin.

It didn't take long for Ranko to get some hot water from Kasumi, so Ranma quickly found himself back in front of the dojo entrance. Finally, he could get this over with.

Kicking the door open for dramatic effect, Ranma strode confidently into the room. Instantly, Ryoga leaped at him, jabbing his umbrella forward like a spear. "Ranma! Prepare yourself!"

While Ranma had expected hostility, he hadn't expected it to be quite so... immediately violent. Barely managing to dodge out of the way, he shouted, "Hey, woah! Chill out a sec! Can't we talk 'bout this!?"

Swinging both his body and the umbrella around, the umbrella aimed at Ranma's skull, Ryoga said, "There's nothing to talk about! This has been a _long_ time coming, so fight me, coward!"

Quickly falling onto his hand and doing a sort of one-handed cartwheel, Ranma kicked Ryoga's umbrella out of the furious boy's hands and to the ground. It crashed thunderously, tearing a hole in the wood floor of the dojo. "...The hell, man!? How heavy _is_ that thing!?"

Still uninterested in words, Ryoga launched his arm out, towards Ranma's face. Dodging to the side, Ranma grabbed hold of the arm and used Ryoga's momentum to flip him over, right into the ground. Then he leaped away, putting some distance between them. "Ryoga, look, I get you're mad, but I don't wanna tear up the Tendo's dojo! I _promise_ I'll fight ya tomorrow in front of Furinkan, but for now, can ya calm the heck down and tell me why ya hate me so much?"

Pushing himself to his feet, Ryoga glared at Ranma, breathing heavily. After a brief glance at the hole his umbrella had made in the floor, something seemed to click in his mind, abating his anger, or at least lowering its intensity. "Fine… If it was _your_ dojo, I'd gladly tear it apart. But you said 'Tendo'... is that the family name of that girl who was just in here?"

"Yeah. Akane. It's her dad's dojo." He let himself relax slightly, daring to hope that Ryoga was genuinely done with his assault. Despite glaring daggers at him, Ryoga otherwise seemed fairly calm, and he'd dropped any semblance of a combat stance. "So, now that we're not trying ta hit each other anymore, ya mind tellin' me what your beef with me is?"

"YOU RAN OUT ON ME!" Ryoga bellowed, pointing accusingly, his entire body shaking in rage.

"I... uh…"

Taking a heavy step forward, Ryoga said, "Three years ago, you were supposed to meet me for a fight, but when I got there, you were nowhere to be found!"

Three years ago… Ranma had been attending a school for boys back then. As he recalled, Ryoga challenged him to fights constantly. Ranma always won, but Ryoga kept on trying. They usually fought at school, though... When had there been an alley fight…?

"Wait, I remember!" Ranma said, suddenly glaring. "I waited for you to show up for _three days_!"

"Ah!" Ryoga said, as though he'd won the verbal sparring match. "But when I arrived on the _fourth_ day, you were gone!"

"Because we _moved_!" Ranma shouted, throwing his hands up. "I _told_ ya we were moving! I told ya _when_ we were moving! And the alley was _right behind your house_!"

"You _know_ I have an awful sense of direction!"

"I didn't _then_!"

Only a few paces away from Ranma now, Ryoga clenched his fist, holding back tears. "I _tried_! I went through _hell_ those four days, trying with _all my might_ to get to the alley in time!"

Huffing, Ranma crossed his arms, his anger fading. "Look, I'm sorry it didn't work out, but I waited, and ya tried your hardest ta get there. Wasn't anythin' else that could'a been done."

Some of the tension in Ryoga's body seemed to ease, though his glare remained. "I… I suppose that's true." He looked away, lost in thought a moment, before he snapped his angry eyes back to Ranma. "But I followed after you! I tried _so hard_ to find you these past three years, and I've gone through _hell_ in the process!"

Unimpressed, Ranma said, "I didn't ask ya ta do that. That's on _you_ , bud."

Anger fizzling even more, Ryoga said, "I… but! ...Hm." Pausing, he glared off to the side, lost in thought once again. When he finally looked back at Ranma, rather than angry, he looked determined. ...Like he had years ago, whenever he challenged Ranma to a fight. A strange pang of nostalgia hit Ranma's heart. "Fine, I guess, _maybe_ , my anger is… misplaced. But!" He jabbed a finger at Ranma. "You still owe me a fight! I _demand_ another chance to prove myself!"

Ranma sighed, but couldn't stop a small smile from forming. "Fine, fine. I already said I'd fight ya tomorrow." He grinned, his competitive edge creeping back. "But you know I'm just gonna kick your ass again, right?"

Returning the grin, Ryoga said, "Heh, underestimate me at your own peril, Saotome. It's been _three years_ \- I'm better than I used to be!"

"Heh, so am I! Better'n you still, for sure."

The two boys stared at each other, grinning and full of confidence. There was something in Ryoga's eyes other than determination… but Ranma couldn't quite place it. Which was fine, really. He was just glad Ryoga wasn't angry anymore.

"So," Ranma said, relaxing, "you good with sleepin' in here tonight? We can get you a mat and blanket, no worries."

Immediately Ryoga nodded, but a moment later his smile vanished. "But what if... " He looked at the floor, cheeks reddening again. Quietly, he said, "What if I have to use the restroom…"

That was… a good point. If Ryoga could get lost trying to get behind his own house, there was no doubt in Ranma's mind that he could get lost on the way from the dojo to the restroom. But what could they do? ...Dammit.

Sighing heavily, Ranma said, "Do you… need me to sleep in here with you?"

The light that instantly appeared in Ryoga's eyes answered the question by itself, but was confirmed twice over by emphatic nodding and the words, "Yes, that'd be great!"

Such a pain. "Fine… I'll be back soon, don't leave the room."

Returning to Kasumi, who was putting the finishing touches on dinner, Ranma briefly explained the situation and asked where he could find some extra mats and blankets. She told him where they were stored, but her face scrunched in concern.

"Have either of you eaten? Perhaps you should bring him over here for dinner with the rest of us? It's almost ready!"

Now that she mentioned it, he _was_ feeling pretty hungry.

Five minutes later, Ranma and Ryoga were sitting next to each other at the Tendo family dining table, happily devouring their food.

"Their table manners are equally awful," Akane muttered.

Laughing, Genma said, "Ah, they're growing boys!" Akane's look indicated this wasn't a sufficient excuse.

"So, what's this I hear about a fight tomorrow?" Nabiki said, pointing her chopsticks Ranma's way.

"Ish jhust'a-"

"Swallow your food, idiot!" Akane shouted.

"He owes me a fight, from a few years ago," Ryoga said, while Ranma gulped down the food in his mouth.

After sticking his tongue out at Akane, Ranma added, "Yeah, so we're gonna fight outside the school. Pretty wide road, so hopefully not a lotta collateral damage." Shoveling more food into his mouth, his eyes lit up and he looked at Soun. "Oh, theresh'a hole in tha dhojo fler."

"What!?" Soun cried.

The rest of the meal went similarly, with Akane rebuking Ranma for talking with his mouth full at least three more times. Nabiki asked some more probing questions, like what time the fight was supposed to start, and Soun tried to get Ranma to explain more about the hole. Ryoga seemed to get along well with everyone; he was actually pleasant to be around, when he wasn't being a jerk or a complete moron.

Towards the end of the meal, Ryoga turned his head to Ranma. "Hey, where's your sister, anyway?"

Genma's head jerked to the side, eyes instantly on Ranma. " _Sister_?"

For a moment, time froze. Ranma was struck with the sickening realization that he hadn't thought this through. Akane's wide eyes indicated he wasn't the only one, though it was little solace. His mind raced, desperately trying to come up with a solution that would fix everything.

He had nothing.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Nabiki said, with a feral grin.

Making brief eye contact with Akane, Ranma nodded, and she nodded back. Then he grabbed Ryoga's arm and ran for it.

"Wh-what're you!?" Ryoga sputtered, too surprised to resist until they were nearly back inside the dojo.

Allowing himself to slow down, Ranma released Ryoga's arm and turned toward him. "Sorry, I, uh… didn't want to explain in front of everyone. It's awkward."  
Utterly confused, Ryoga said, " _What's_ awkward!?"

Ranma's mind flailed about for ideas, with no success. Finally, it found something. "Well, you see, my poor sister is sick!"

This didn't seem to lessen Ryoga's confusion. "She seemed fine earlier, though..."

Putting on a dramatic, sorrowful expression, Ranma said, "Yes, well… it comes and goes. Flares up so suddenly that she can't even leave her bed sometimes."

"B-but… your father-"

Working hard to prevent a fake sob, Ranma said, "Even _more_ tragic! His memory is fading… he forgets even his _daughter_ , sometimes!"

If Ranma had tried to sell this obvious lie to virtually anyone else, he felt sure it wouldn't have worked. But Ryoga was a trusting sort… and also not the brightest. His confusion abated, Ryoga was nearly overcome with sympathy as he grabbed hold of Ranma's hand.

"I never knew! Oh, Ranma, I'm _so sorry_ for the way I acted earlier… I didn't realize how difficult a life you led, with your family so woefully afflicted!"

Guilt curled around Ranma's stomach, but this was a lie he had to stick to. He didn't want to risk Ryoga blabbing the Ranko secret to anyone at school... or to his dad, again. Oh, damn! Hopefully Akane had managed to smooth _that_ out alright. ...Then there was the fact that he and Ryoga were getting along so well Ryoga that Ranko was a lie felt like the sort of thing that would send him into a rage spiral again.

"It's fine, it's fine! No need ta feel bad." Pulling his hand away, he walked a few more paces to the dojo door, and tossed it open for Ryoga. "You go ahead an' head back in there, an' I'll go grab the mats and blankets, 'kay?"

Ryoga entered and Ranma rushed back to the main house, nearly running directly into Akane on the way. Her strong arms were wrapped around a pile of bedding, her eyes barely able to see him over the blankets.

"I told your dad that Ryoga was confused, thinking some other girl from school was related to you," she said quietly, offering Ranma the bedding. "He was eager to believe it, honestly. ...Pretty sure I owe Nabiki now, though."

He grimaced. "You need me ta give ya some money?" Not that he had much to give, but the least he could do was offer.

She waved a hand at him. "No, it's fine. You just owe me one, okay?" she said, shooting him a small smile and a wink that made his heart swell.

"Fine, fine," he muttered, taking the bedding. The two of them stood in silence for a few moments, the both of them looking anywhere besides directly at each other. "I, uh… better get back…"

"Yeah. ...Yeah," Akane said, still not looking at him. Right as he started to turn, however, her eyes snapped up to meet his. She looked… worried, again? ...Why? "Just… be careful, okay?"

Before he could properly respond, she turned on her heels and walked away. "...I will," he said quietly, not sure that she could hear it.

A while later, Ranma and Ryoga lay near each other in the Tendo Dojo, one of them already fast asleep. The other, Ranma, stared up at the ceiling, eyes unfocused, mind whirring. He'd been thinking about it for who knows how long now, and he still couldn't figure out why Akane had said that. What was he supposed to be careful _of_? He assumed it had something to do with Ryoga, but… what? Was she worried that Ranma wasn't strong enough to handle the boy? Or that Ryoga might attack Ranma while he was asleep? Or was there something else?

"Ranma…" Ryoga's sleepy voice muttered, drawing Ranma's attention. "Finally… found…." Snoring replaced the words, and Ranma rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he turned back to look at the ceiling. Before his thoughts could really get going again, however, the sleeping Ryoga spoke once more. "Missed you…. Happy…."

Any hope of Ranma's busy brain allowing him rest that night vanished.


	11. The Fight, Finally (Fight Me!, Part II)

"See you at school!" a smiling Nabiki said with a short wave, as she headed toward the exit of the Tendo residence. Staring after her with bleary eyes, Ranma sat at the dining table, slowly chewing his breakfast and trying to figure out what was so wrong with her sentence. For one, she had never bothered to greet him on her way out before. And two, he realized with a small start, it was Sunday.

Frowning, he cast his eyes over the only other person at the table - a happy, humming Ryoga, who looked remarkably better-rested than Ranma felt. He sighed. If Akane was here, maybe _she_ could tell him why Nabiki was bothering to go to school on a Sunday.

The answer became clear as soon as he and Ryoga got close to Furinkan. Instead of only Akane waiting for them, as he'd expected, there was a large crowd of Furinkan students, despite the fact that it was the weekend. Among them was none other than Nabiki, who was getting yelled at by her younger sister.

"This is _completely_ messed up, you can't-"

"It's _fine_! Look, no one's going to interfere!" Nabiki said, waving her hands as if the movement or her words were in any way soothing. "But if there's going to be a fight, isn't it a shame to not have anyone there to see it?"

Stomping a foot, hands balled into fists, Akane said, "You're only doing it to make money from betting on the fight!"

Nabiki's eyes caught Ranma and Ryoga, who had slowed to a walk in their confused approach. Her pacifying expression instantly shifted into something much more predatory. "Hey, look, they're here! Let's stop arguing and get this show on the road!"

"Ranma, what in the _world_ is going on?" Ryoga said, his face more confused than Ranma had ever seen it.

He shrugged. "Who cares. Just Nabiki bein' Nabiki. You wanted a fight, so let's do it!"

"But Ranma," Akane said, turning his way, "with all these people, and the clou-"

"Akane, it's _fine_. I'm ready for this to finally happen, okay?" Ranma said, not even looking at her. He knew without a glance that she was glaring at him now, and he had no need or desire to see that.

"If anyone wants to change their bets, now's your last chance!" Nabiki shouted. Instantly a few people came forward, glancing at Ranma and Ryoga with looks that made Ranma uncomfortable. Like they were looking at cattle.

Doing his best to ignore them, Ranma stepped a few paces away from Ryoga. "You ready?"

Ryoga grinned. "I've _been_ ready."

Without another word, Ryoga rushed at Ranma, less enraged but more focused than he'd been the night before. Striking forward with several short jabs of his umbrella, he grimaced as Ranma easily dodged each jab. Ranma felt a smile spreading across his face; it was nice to fight someone just for the sake of a good fight, instead of the constant training with his father, or the fight the other night, where his only goal had been to end it as quickly as possible. There was also no reason to worry about any nasty underhanded tricks, like in his fight with Kodachi. If there was _one_ thing he most remembered about fighting Ryoga years ago, it was the boy's intense focus on "honor."

Trying to ignore the collective gasp the move earned from the crowd, Ranma leapt into the air, dodging a strong swipe of Ryoga's umbrella. Bouncing off a telephone pole, Ranma leaped forward with a kick, aiming for Ryoga's face.

"Yeah, Ranma!" someone in the crowd shouted, briefly drawing his attention.

His eyes snapped back to Ryoga as he felt something wrap around his leg - a bandana, it looked like, similar to the one still wrapped around Ryoga's head. Crap, if he'd still been looking-! But it was too late, and Ryoga clearly had no intention of cutting him any slack. With a sharp pull of the bandana, Ryoga brought his opponent's body crashing into the ground, cracking the concrete with the force of the impact.

Clearly, Ryoga _had_ gotten better. The old Ryoga would never have managed something like that, even with the opening. But Ranma had no time to reflect - Ryoga was leaping at him, umbrella stabbing downwards toward Ranma's prone form. Barely managing to roll out of the way, Ranma gasped as the umbrella's impact with the ground created an explosion of pressure, forcing him even farther away than he'd expected - and bringing Ryoga, who hadn't let go of the bandana, right along with him. The two of them rolled across the ground, kicking and punching at each other and mostly missing. The cheering crowd didn't seem to notice. Ranma _did_ manage to successfully kick Ryoga's hand though, finally gaining his leg's freedom.

They both leaped to their feet at the same time, and Ryoga jabbed forward, striking Ranma with nothing but air. His umbrella, the both of them suddenly realized, had gotten left behind in the ground. Reaching into his pocket, Ryoga came at Ranma with another bandana, trying to capture Ranma's arm, but this time Ranma was prepared. He nimbly dodged to the left, then got a good kick in on Ryoga's stomach, sending the boy flying back - right to his umbrella. Dammit.

"Kick his ass, Ryoga!" a girl in the crowd screamed.

Hoping to reach Ryoga before he could regain one of his weapons, Ranma charged, throwing a punch once he was within range. But Ryoga was faster than he'd hoped, and before Ranma's fist could connect with anything, he felt the flat top of the umbrella press into his chest, lifting him up and tossing him high into the air.

Given a sudden moment to focus on something other than his opponent, Ranma rolled his eyes as he realized the crowd below was making a fuss at this sudden turn of events. He could make out Nabiki and Akane's faces - one gleeful, the other horrified. Both got on his nerves. But then that look on Nabiki's face turned to irritation, as she realized what Ranma had realized the moment he was thrown - his trajectory was taking him away from Furinkan and into the neighborhoods nearby.

"Wait, you gotta stay where everyone can see!" she cried angrily.

But it was too late - Ryoga was already leaping after Ranma, apparently caring as little for Nabiki's words as Ranma did. He aimed a kick at the still airborne Ranma, which was a bit foolish since it was so easy to see coming. But Ranma wasn't one to ignore a good opportunity in a fight. He dodged and returned with his own kick, sending Ryoga careening into the ground even faster than the lost boy had done to him earlier.

Alighting on a rooftop near Ryoga's new hole in the street, Ranma could still hear Nabiki yelling, and, in fact, it sounded like she was getting closer. Mischievous side flaring up, he shouted down at the slowly standing Ryoga, "Hey, catch me if you can!" Then he ran, hopping from roof to roof and laughing the whole way. Though he almost certainly could have outrun and lost Ryoga, he instead kept his pace fairly slow, and checked constantly to make sure the guy was still following him. It was only Nabiki he was trying to lose, afterall.

Suddenly, Ranma felt something hit his cheek. Something light - but wet. A raindrop. _No_.

Stopping at the edge of a rooftop and turning toward Ryoga, he shouted, "W-wait, maybe we actually _should_ stop-"

"Nonsense!" Ryoga shouted, charging forward like an angry bull.

Leaping backward to avoid an incoming kick, Ranma watched as Ryoga flicked his umbrella open to cover himself, just as the rain began to pour. That familiar tingle rippled through Ranma's body, which was suddenly much smaller than it had been in most respects. Landing on the ground, he quickly put some distance between himself and Ryoga, which was made easy by the fact that Ryoga had frozen in place, staring at Ranma in horror.

"R-Ranko…?"

Well _that_ lie didn't last long. "I… um… yeah." Finding it difficult to maintain eye contact, Ranma tried to find the words to explain. "Ranko… is me. Ranma. I haven't actually got a sister. Just a curse."

Confusion quickly turning to fury, Ryoga took a step forward, still keeping his body squarely beneath the open umbrella. "W-why!? Why didn't you just _tell_ me!?"

"I-I… I didn't want ya to laugh at this awful curse I'm stuck with," Ranma lied, to both Ryoga and himself. He hadn't quite managed to accept the fact that part of him enjoyed the fact that his two forms were separate identities to most people. And he had no clue _why_ he enjoyed that separation.

Somehow, this explanation just made Ryoga angrier. He straightened his posture, gaze cold. "That you call _that_ adorable form a _curse_ is what's truly laughable."

Jutting his lip out and crossing his arms, Ranma tried to ignore how cold he was starting to feel, standing and soaking in the rain as he was. "Ain't nothin' _laughable_ 'bout this, ya jerk!" He paused, realizing that there was nothing to stop Ryoga from telling other people about him now. Other than the guy's sense of direction, but still, he could certainly wind up within earshot of people Ranma didn't want him to be in earshot of. "Hey, but, uh, 'Ranko' _is_ real in the sense that I've been usin' that name an' identity at school… so don't say a word ta anyone from Furinkan, or my Pops, for that matter, 'kay?"

"Feh," Ryoga muttered, rolling his eyes. "I've no desire to reveal your secret." Shifting back into a fighting stance, he roared, "All I want is to _FIGHT_!"

Then he charged. Before Ranma could decide how to react to that, his mind picked up on something else entirely - the sound of a camera snapping a picture. His head swiveled to the side, where he saw none other than Nabiki, camera in one hand and umbrella in the other, smirking right at him.

"Gotta make sure I've got proof of how this fight ends!" she yelled at him, before he was able to ask.

Ryoga was upon him now, barely giving him time to fall to the ground - the only dodge he could manage quick enough to avoid Ryoga's attack. Hearing the creaking of metal, he looked up and realized that Ryoga had punched right into a metal telephone pole, which his hand was currently embedded in. A brief feeling of relief flooded Ranma over the fact that it hadn't been his face.

Rolling to the side and leaping back to his feet, Ranma looked at his opponent, realizing with surprise that the anger from the night before was back in full force - if not stronger. "R-ryoga, you okay, buddy…?"

"We are NOT buddies!" Ryoga shouted, throwing something at Ranma. Three somethings, in fact, which flew through the air like buzzsaws. Managing to dodge two of them, Ranma grimaced as the third cut into his shoulder, slicing clean through the fabric of his shirt. What the hell had pissed Ryoga off so much!? Ryoga reached into his pocket and pulled out more headbands - three of them - which he immediately hurled at Ranma. So _those_ were the buzzsaws.

Leaping back and to the side to dodge the incoming projectiles, Ranma shouted, "Wait, what's goin' on!? This was just a friendly match a second ago, but you're pissed at me again!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ryoga practically screamed, leaping into the air to go for another downward strike, this time with only his fist. But with anger came recklessness, which made his tells easier to pick up on. Ranma easily dodged, leaping onto a nearby building. Good thing, too, because the impact from Ryoga's attack was much stronger than it had been in front of Furinkan. The concrete split apart like broken ice, creating a ring of carnage that took up nearly the entire width of the street.

This had to stop. There was no telling what civilians might wander into this area and get hurt, not to mention Nabiki was _entirely_ too close to the situation. Part of him thought she'd deserve whatever happened to her, but the more reasonable part of him knew that a hit like _that_ would destroy her. Unless she'd been doing a bunch of resistance training he didn't know about, which… no, she definitely hadn't.

A grapple might do it. Leaping back into the fray, Ranma leaped over some frenzied swipes from Ryoga, right over the boy's umbrella. Now behind him, Ranma grabbed Ryoga by the arms, pinning the thick-muscled limbs to his side. Ryoga barely managed to keep the umbrella over their heads.

"The _hell_ do you think you're doing!?" Ryoga yelled, pushing back against Ranma's hold with as much force as he could muster. It was almost enough, Ranma had to admit, but not quite. A sudden hard kick to Ranma's shin almost caused him to lose his grip, though. He barely managed to keep it, and retaliated by trapping Ryoga's attacking leg with one of his own.

Having now lost the use of three of his limbs, Ryoga roared, shaking from side-to-side to no avail. When he bent down with his one free leg, Ranma at first thought nothing of it. He realized far too late what was about to happen. Ryoga shot his leg back up, launching the both of them into the air like a rocket. Caught by surprise, Ranma's hold loosened just enough for Ryoga to free himself, knocking the redhead out from under the cover of the umbrella.

...That umbrella. Ryoga had been keeping it firmly over his head since the moment it started raining. The desire not to get wet was understandable, but it was _especially_ understandable to someone like Ranma, with a Jusenkyo curse. Did _Ryoga_ have…?

As the two of them landed a few paces away from each other on a rooftop, Ranma immediately charged back toward Ryoga, dodging a punch and returning with a kick. But this time his target wasn't Ryoga's face or body or anywhere else Ranma usually aimed for. It was the hand holding Ryoga's umbrella. He landed the hit, too, though Ryoga's grip proved stronger than he'd hoped. The umbrella didn't go flying, but it _did_ shift enough that it briefly stopped covering Ryoga entirely.

Eyes wide in horror, Ryoga quickly pulled the umbrella back, but not fast enough to prevent rain from hitting him. He didn't pull it back over his head, however, instead turning it even further so that suddenly it acted as a shield between him and Ranma, one that Ranma unexpectedly found himself bashed backwards by.

Stumbling, Ranma barely managed to maintain his footing on the rain-slicked roof tiles. What was _more_ concerning, though, was the fact that Ryoga was retreating fast, dragging his umbrella behind him and disappearing off the edge of the roof.

Immediately charging after, Ranma halted when a voice called out to him. "Damn, he's running away? The people who bet on you are gonna be _thrilled_!"

Glaring down at the street to his right, Ranma saw Nabiki, smiling up at him, camera still in her hands. Wait, camera…

Leaping down right in front of her, Ranma said, "Hey, you were snappin' pics, right? Did you see if the rain transformed Ryoga when it hit 'im?"

The way her eyes widened did enough to answer the question by itself. "Wait, he's like _you_?"

"I dunno!" Ranma said, throwing his hands up. "Dunno why else he'd try so hard to keep himself covered in the rain, though. Or why he'd run when I ruined that."

A familiar, unwelcome smile creeped onto Nabiki's face. "Well, when I get these developed, I'll tell you if it shows anything." The smile grew. "For a price, of course."

Rolling his eyes, Ranma said, "Yeah, yeah." Looking back at her out of the corner of his eye, he grinned. "You realize those pics 'a me fightin' Ryoga show _Ranko_ , right? Anyone placed a bet on her?"

Nabiki's happy expression dissolved into a murderous glare.

Still grinning, Ranma said, "Welp, gonna go try an' find him, bye!" Without another word, he took off, running down street after street with no sign of Ryoga, or of anything, really. He'd hoped he might see some animal that, like, had a bandana or something. But there was nothing. Sighing, he came to a stop under an overhanging roof, getting mostly free of the rain for a few moments.

Damn this rain. He'd _so_ wanted this Ryoga business over and done with. Of course, knowing Ryoga, there probably would've eventually been another challenge thrown Ranma's way, but at least it wouldn't have the backing of years of desire and denial behind it.

And then there was the curse. Ryoga _had_ to have one, right? Ranma couldn't think of another reason that the guy who'd been so insistent about fighting would suddenly run away. Why he wanted to hide a curse when Ranma had literally just been shown to have one, Ranma had no idea. Maybe it was really embarrassing? Regardless, Ranma was going to find out what it was. Especially with how mad Ryoga had seemed about Ranma's curse. Which was baffling, honestly. If Ranma could just find him, he could force an explanation out.

He sighed again, looking out at the still pouring rain. Once it stopped, Ranma would find Ryoga. But until then… he sat down on the ground with a soft squishy thump. Hit butt felt even colder now, pressed against the fabric of his soaked pants. Whatever. It didn't matter. Soon enough he'd be on the run again, but for now… for now all he could do was wait.


	12. Rainy Day Revelations (Fight Me!,Pt III)

Where _was_ he!? Akane had been searching for Ranma for going on ten minutes now, to absolutely no avail. She and Nabiki had both run after the idiot after Ryoga threw him, but the two boys ran _so_ fast, and Akane ended up losing sight of them. And then she lost sight of Nabiki, and… and now she was running around in the pouring rain, her clothes and hair completely soaked through, in some neighborhood she wasn't familiar with. She'd definitely taken a wrong turn at some point… it would her take a while to find her way back.

Sighing, she finally admitted to herself that this was pointless. Heading toward the nearest house with an overhang, she took refuge from the rain, her body shivering as her mind took stock of exactly how cold and wet she was. But before she could get comfortable — or as comfortable as it was possible for someone in her situation to be, at least — movement caught her eye, a little ways down the waterlogged street. A small black _something_ was running around, zig-zagging about as though it was unsure of which way to go. She couldn't quite make out what it was from this distance, but she felt sure it was some kind of animal. More than that, she was sure it needed her help.

Stepping back out into the downpour, she ran for the animal, which didn't seem to notice her approach. The closer she got the more obvious it became that it was a sad, wet puppy, which only made her heart swell more. Scooping the confused, soggy mess up into her arms, she held it close, ignoring its yelps and hoping her love would help warm it even if her drenched clothes would not. Then she ran for another overhang, where she and her new little friend could wait out the rest of the storm.

Once she was clear of the rain, she held the puppy up to get a good look at it. Its black fur was clearly supposed to be fluffy, but because of the rain, it hung downward like a ragged mop, swaying slightly as the puppy shivered from the cold. Staring into the puppy's big brown eyes, she saw a great sadness, as though this poor, soaked pup had been through much tragedy in what had to have been a rather short life so far. Overcome with emotion, she smooshed it back into her chest, trying to avoid squeezing it too hard and arguably not succeeding. This dog was _hers_ now. It had no collar, or anything else that might indicate it had an owner, and thus she was going to take it home with her. She vowed to ensure that the rest of this puppy's life was filled with _nothing_ but happiness.

Ten minutes or so later, the rain finally let up, and Akane made her way home. It took her a bit to figure out how to get there, but she managed just fine. Her only worry was that, on the way, her new puppy started sneezing. Once she finally found her home, she headed straight for the furo, determined to give the puppy a nice warm soak and hopefully cure its sneezes.

Strangely though, when she entered the washroom to start filling the furo up, the puppy immediately started to whine and wriggle around in her arms. That wasn't so bad initially, but once she returned to the changing room to pull her wet clothes off, the puppy's struggling made things difficult. It only seemed to panic more and more as she stripped, and by the time she was actually walking into the washroom again, it was literally howling as it desperately tried to squirm away. She knew that some dogs didn't like being washed, but this was ridiculous.

Fed up with the wriggling wet mess, Akane decided to skip the washing part and go directly to the soaking. Holding the dog away from her to avoid an accidental scratch, she plopped it into the water with a small splash.

To Akane's utter shock and horror, what emerged from beneath the steaming water was not a cute little puppy dog, but the head of a very naked and embarrassed Ryoga. Scrambling backwards, Akane had only _just_ thought to try to cover herself when the door to the room burst open, sending her already thumping heart into overdrive. What rushed through the door was a dog - not a puppy, but a large adult dog, with wet, dripping fur that was black on one side and white on the other.

This newcomer leapt right at Ryoga, knocking him back into the warm water, which splashed over the sides of the furo and onto Akane's feet. Her panic started to recede slightly when Ryoga sat back up, laughing and smiling as the dog eagerly licked at his face. But then she realized she was still naked, and she scrambled to grab a towel that she could wrap around herself.

Pushing the dog off him, Ryoga finally looked back at Akane, seeming relieved that she'd managed to cover herself. "S-sorry," he said, smiling sheepishly, his face crimson. "Here, um, I'll get a towel, then I can explain…"

Though Akane very much supported the idea of him getting a towel, Ryoga didn't seem to have thought about the fact that stepping out of the furo to get one would still involve him being naked right in front of her. Fortunately, _she_ did, and thus she managed to avert her eyes in time to avoid seeing more of Ryoga than she particularly desired to see.

"Hey, wha-!? Shirokuro!" Ryoga cried, prompting Akane to look back at him. Still naked, he was being pushed roughly away by the big dog, apparently named Shirokuro, towards the door. Akane sighed in relief that Shirokuro was covering everything that she didn't want to see, allowing her to watch in confusion as Ryoga was forced out into the changing room and then out into the hall. Scrambling to her feet, she ran after them, throwing on some spare pajamas she kept in the washroom. She caught up with the pair in time to see Shirokuro push Ryoga back outside, where, unfortunately for Ryoga, it had started to rain again. Tall, naked Ryoga quickly shrunk back to an adorable black puppy, which Shirokuro grabbed by the scruff and flipped onto its back before starting to walk away.

Grabbing an umbrella, Akane hurried after the two dogs, determined to have a talk with Ryoga about what _exactly_ was going on... once they got to wherever it was Shirokuro so eagerly wanted to go.

The three of them walked for a good half hour, at least, mostly through various Tokyo neighborhoods. This determined dog had apparently walked _quite_ a ways to find its owner. Fortunately, Akane didn't have to follow at a distance - Shirokuro seemed quite happy to have someone else to walk with, and was very receptive toward petting.

Finally, the three of them reached their destination. Or, at least, Akane had to assume as much when Shirokuro started walking up to a random house's door, pushing its way inside. Quickly following and closing the door behind her, Akane watched as Shirokuro brought puppy Ryoga over to a giant dog bed, where a bunch more puppies wriggled around, making adorable little noises. Akane felt her heart swell at least two sizes. For a moment, she thought Shirokuro was about to place puppy Ryoga _with_ the other puppies, but instead the larger dog plopped the transformed boy down right next to the bed. Assumedly, these puppies were Shirokuro's, and she was just a proud mother that wanted to show them off.

Tentatively, Akane approached, kneeling down to gaze in wonder at the puppy pile. She slowly reached a hand out, wordlessly asking Shirokuro if touching the puppies was allowed. The big dog didn't seem to mind. Absolutely thrilled, Akane pet each and every puppy multiple times, and even picked one up to cradle in her arms. Most of the pups were half white, half black like Shirokuro. But there were also two pure-white puppies, and one that was pure black.

Out of the corner of her eye, Akane noticed that little puppy Ryoga hadn't moved, and was in fact staring right at her, with an expression that was difficult to read, given it was on a dog. But whatever Ryoga's intent, the effect was that Akane realized that there were more important things to deal with right now than snuggling puppies, despite how amazing an activity snuggling puppies was.

Setting the puppy she had been holding down, Akane stood and searched for Ryoga's kitchen, which she found with ease. It didn't take long to find a kettle to brew some hot water in. Once the water was boiled, she grabbed the kettle, returned to the main room, and grabbed puppy Ryoga, who didn't protest.

"Where's your room?" she said, feeling a little strange about asking a puppy a question, even though she knew it was Ryoga in there. His little puppy head gestured toward the stairs, and so Akane went that way, moving up to the second floor. Fortunately, Ryoga's room was one of the first ones to be found up there - it was clearly labelled with his name. Briefly, she wondered if labelling his room like that helped him at all with finding it. She'd have to ask him later.

Stepping inside, she looked about the room, which was different than she'd expected. The walls and shelves were absolutely covered in all manner of souvenirs, many from Japan, but quite a few from elsewhere around the world, too. But she could look at them more closely later. For now, she set the kettle and puppy Ryoga down on the ground, then stepped back toward the door.

"I'll give you a second to change," she said, looking back at the adorable puppy on the ground. "Just let me know when you're done, so we can talk."

Once she was outside she closed the door and leaned against it, letting out a big sigh. What a strange turn of events. She hadn't managed to find the fight, but she _did_ manage to find Ryoga, who was apparently cursed, just like Ranma. Being completely naked when she discovered that had _not_ been ideal. The sound of heavy footsteps met her ears, followed by the sound of a drawer being pulled open and rummaged through. At least she hadn't seen all of Ryoga, while he was naked… but she wasn't sure the same was true for him, about her. She decided not to think about it.

"Okay, I'm ready!" called Ryoga's voice through the door.

Heading back into his room, Akane was mildly amused to see him wearing virtually the same outfit she'd seen him in the last few times they'd met. Did he have multiple copies of the same outfit? A question for a later time, perhaps. Given how embarrassed the boy looked already, she imagined questioning him about his fashion practices might just destroy him.

"S-so I'm really, _really_ sorry about… all of that," he said, his eyes flicking about the room but refusing to look directly at her. "I _tried_ to get away so I didn't see… and I didn't! Or, well… mostly. I tried not to, but I might've seen some-"

"Ryoga, it's fine," Akane said, trying not to laugh, or to think about it too hard. Though she'd been furious at Ranma for _his_ accidental viewing of her naked body, there was something about Ryoga that kept her from feeling that same anger now. Probably the fact that Ryoga, even as a puppy, had tried so hard to avoid it, while Ranma had taken a big look the moment he got the opportunity. She chose to ignore the fact that she had stared at him just as much. "I know you didn't mean to, so no need to keep apologizing."

"O-okay," he said, still refusing to look at her. "Um, so, as you saw, I have a curse…" Akane nodded, but stayed silent, especially since Ryoga finally looked directly at her. "But I don't want Ranma to know, so please don't tell him!"

Cocking an eyebrow, Akane said, "Sure, I won't, but… why? He's got a curse too, which I assume you saw when it started raining" Though she hadn't been around them when it began to rain, she assumed they had been together when it happened. Though given the fact that Ryoga didn't think Ranma knew about his curse… maybe that hadn't been the case? Hopefully she hadn't just ruined Ranma's secret.

Ryoga's expression turned dark for a moment, as he peered off to the side at some nondescript point. "Yes, I… I noticed." Relief flooded Akane's system, though she tried not to show it. Ryoga stayed silent a few more seconds, before finally looking back at her. "Still, please don't tell him. My cursed form is so… _weak_. I don't want him to think less of me, especially since I've still _never_ managed to beat him in a fight."

He hadn't? Not ever? Akane knew Ranma was strong, but she'd figured Ryoga was a pretty even match. Afterall, his weapon was an umbrella so heavy that it had broken a hole in her dojo's floor. ...Could Ranma use it too, if he wanted? An intense feeling of inadequacy gripped her. She'd known for a while now that Ranma was a better martial artist than her, given he'd had so much more opportunity to practice the art, but she hadn't realized just how gargantuan that gap was.

"A-akane?" Ryoga said, looking at her in confusion. Realizing she was scowling, Akane plastered a smile on her face, not wanting to bother Ryoga with her own insecurities. It seemed like he had enough to deal with on his own.

"I'm fine, sorry! But yeah, I won't tell him, don't worry." As she spoke her mind wandered again, this time in a completely different direction. Ryoga seemed to care _a lot_ about impressing Ranma… there was a time, not that long ago, that she wouldn't have thought much of that. But lately, with the whole Kuno situation, and Akane's struggle with her own feelings… well, there was a whole world that existed that Akane was suddenly _much_ more aware of. And because of that, she couldn't help but wonder if Ryoga's feelings were perhaps not _entirely_ based around his own insecurities, but also around, well, _feelings_. For Ranma.

Realizing that they'd been sitting in silence, and that Ryoga was staring at her again, Akane tried to find the best way to phrase her question. Finally, she settled on, "Ryoga, are you… _interested_ in Ranma?"

That confused look returned to Ryoga's face. " _Interested_? Like, in fighting him…?"

She shook her head. "No, I mean… _romantically_."

Eyes growing to the size of dinner plates, Ryoga waved his hands frantically, his face beet red. " _What_!? _No_! No, nononono. Of _course_ not! I- We're-"

Waving her hands in a pacifying manner, Akane said, "Okay! Sorry I asked, didn't mean to embarrass you more."

Still looking incredibly flustered, Ryoga said, "Wh-why would you even _think_ -?"

"Well, I mean, you just seem a _little_ obsessed with him…"

"Only in _fighting_ him!" Ryoga shouted, shaking his head from side-to-side. "I just- I have to _prove_ myself, prove I can beat him!"

"Okay, I believe you!" she said, half meaning it. He was either telling the truth, deeply in denial, or in the middle of figuring himself out, like she was. Regardless, pressing him on it was almost certainly _not_ going to help. ... _But_ … Ryoga's desire to fight Ranma was _clearly_ not going to go away until he won a fight. Which meant he was going to keep showing up at random moments in Akane's life, like he had been, which was far from ideal. What if there was a way to prevent Ryoga from getting lost? A way for him to be nearby whenever a good opportunity for a fight presented itself? A way that would ensure Akane always knew where he was, so she didn't have to keep getting surprised by him?

"Ryoga," she said, getting his attention and stopping the flustered muttering he'd fallen into while she'd been thinking. "I've got an idea. Your cursed form is a puppy... and I've always wanted a pet." His eyes went wide again, but she pressed on before he could say anything. "What if you stay with me at my house, in your puppy form? For a little while, at least. That way you won't get lost for weeks on end, and you'll be able to fight Ranma whenever you want!"

As she'd gone on, his expression had shifted from shock to cautious interest. "You would do that for me?" he said, as though he scarcely dared to believe it.

"I would!" she said with a smile. "I can buy you a little doggy bed, and you can stay in my room! I'll just have you go out into the hall whenever I change."

Though he still seemed a bit nervous, Ryoga nevertheless agreed. "Okay, yes! Let's try it!"

"Oh! You'll need a name, though. A dog name," she said, her mind immediately casting about for good options. Since none seemed forthcoming from him, she started voicing her thought process. "I've been calling you 'puppy Ryoga' in my head." She said the word 'puppy' in English, which just seemed to confuse Ryoga.

"Poppy Ryoga?" he said, pronouncing the English word as though the feel of it made his mouth uncomfortable.

"Pupp-y," Akane corrected, pronouncing it as two separate sounds. "It's a cute English word for a baby dog. So I could just call you that, maybe?"

He didn't look enthused about the idea.

"Or, okay, how about… Puppy-chan? Pup-chan?" She frowned, not entirely pleased with either of those. Finally, the perfect choice came to her: "P-chan!"

"P-chan," Ryoga repeated, smiling as he said it. "That seems fine!"

Decision made, silence took over, as Akane sat there wondering what to talk about. Finally, she said, "So, Shirokuro… that's your dog?"

Smiling again, Ryoga said, "Oh, yes! She's a sweetheart. A very loving dog. I think she just really wanted me to see her new puppies."

"They _are_ adorable," Akane said, with a small laugh. Silence started to take over yet again, and so she pushed on with a new topic of conversation. "Your room, though! You've got _so_ many things in it!"

Chuckling, Ryoga said, "Yeah... Well, whenever I find this house again, I put all the souvenirs I found along the way in here…"

"Where's _that_ one from?" she said, pointing at a little clay figure of a tiger.

"Oh, well, that's a bit of a story, actually…"

"Do tell!"

Beaming, Ryoga launched into a tale about a disastrous day he spent in a small town Akane didn't recognize the name of. It got the both of them laughing at multiple points, and when it was done, they continued talking casually for another hour or more, enjoying one another's company. It was an unexpectedly lovely afternoon.

That evening, when Akane and "P-chan" returned to the Tendo estate, someone was waiting for them. Leaning against the wall in the house's entryway was Nabiki, a smirk on her face and a few photos splayed out in her hand.

"We need to talk," she said, an intimidating gleam in her eye. Gaze traveling from Akane to the small puppy in her arms, Nabiki added, "All _three_ of us."


	13. A Rough Week (Kuno Strikes Back!,Part I)

Though he'd searched the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, Ranma never managed to find Ryoga. He _thought_ he did multiple times — a black pig, a woman with short black hair, a bird, a dog that he was pretty sure belonged to a neighbor... But a quick splash of warm water — in a kettle he'd grabbed from Dr. Tofu's — had quickly proved him wrong _every_ time. It had also gained him a few new enemies, but he wasn't too concerned about any of them being a real threat.

And then he'd gone home, where he discovered that Akane _coincidentally_ had a brand-new little black dog. He immediately tried to splash it with hot water, a plot that Akane not only foiled but was _suspiciously_ upset about.

" _What the hell_ , Ranma!?" she screamed, most of her front newly soaked and the squirming puppy held out to the side with both of her hands.

"I'm just tryin' ta prove that puppy ain't Ryoga! Lemme just-" Trying to throw more water out of the kettle, he realized with irritation that it was empty. Dammit, he hadn't even transformed back to his regular self yet.

Kicking the kettle out of Ranma's hands and into the wall, Akane said, "Why would you think P-chan is _Ryoga_!? He's just a cute little puppy!"

"Well Ryoga ran out on the fight, right after I knocked his umbrella an' he got soaked. Sounds pretty dang _suspicious_ , right? So I've been trying ta-"

Jabbing a finger into Ranma's buxom chest, Akane said, "You can't just go throwing hot water around! Now I'm soaking wet _again_!" Despite what she'd just said, she squeezed P-chan to her chest, which only seemed to make the pup squirm more. "You could've burned him!"

"Oh, c'mon, it wasn't even that hot anymore!" Ranma said, rolling his eyes and pushing Akane's finger away. "I just _know_ he's gotta curse, an'-"

Turning on her heel, Akane marched away. " _Not_ interested! Just keep me and my new dog _out_ of it!"

He didn't, though. Twice more that evening he tried to splash "P-chan", and both times Akane prevented him from doing so. The second time she slapped him so hard that he still felt it that evening, as he lay in bed, trying unsuccessfully to go to sleep.

Stupid 'Kane. Why wouldn't she let him splash the dumb dog? If it was just a dog, it probably wouldn't even care much. But if it _was_ Ryoga, then Ranma could force him to talk! Ranma could make him explain what the big idea was, getting all upset about Ranma's curse when _he_ had one too. ...Though hopefully that conversation could avoid circling back to the whole 'Ranma lying about the curse' thing, and the reasons behind that.

...Why _had_ Ranma lied about it, anyway? Why did he care whether or not Ryoga knew? And more than that… why was he still keeping up a separate identity at school, anyway? The truth was going to come out at _some_ point, he was sure of it. It had every time he'd tried to pull similar schemes before, both before and after the curse. So why was he postponing the inevitable?

The answer came to him quickly. It was simply _easier_ to be Ranko at school. The other students were nicer to Ranko than they were to Ranma, which made the whole school experience, which was usually frustrating and boring in equal measure, much more… pleasant. If there was a way to be Ranma and still have _that_ , then of course he'd ditch Ranko in a heartbeat!

...Ranko wasn't a great name, was it? Admittedly, it had been rather spur-of-the-moment, at least when he initially thought it up. On the road in China, not long after getting the curse, there had been a few situations in which Ranma had needed to provide a name for his red-headed form, and the first thing he'd thought of was a simple variant of his own name: Ranko. But, well… hearing the name used so often by others, and most recently in his own head, he had to admit it wasn't exactly his favorite. He was fairly certain he'd come up with better ones in his youth, but none of them were coming to mind now. Not to mention he wasn't sure how easy it would be to get everyone else to use a new name anyway, now that they were all so used to Ranko. ...Eh, he'd cross that bridge when he got there.

As Ranma lay in bed, his mind throwing out various new name possibilities for his alter ego, he eventually, _finally_ managed to drift off to sleep.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Nabiki said cheerfully as a groggy Ranma descended the stairs.

Even with his foggy mind, Ranma was aware enough of the middle Tendo sister's inherent dangerousness that he was instantly suspicious of her sudden cheer. "Uh... yeah?"

Warm smile quickly morphing into that obnoxious smirk that Ranma was used to, Nabiki said, "Just wanted to thank you! I'm going to make a _killing_ off that fight from the other day."

Though he tried to process this info on his own, Ranma found his sleepy brain unprepared for such a considerable challenge. "Wait, but… thought your pics of the fight's end show _Ranko_ …"

"They do!" Nabiki said, moving a bit closer, her grin growing. "But since you're doing a whole 'double identity' thing, that actually makes explaining the situation _far_ simpler. See, to everyone else, it'll just look like _Ranma_ ran away and let his _sister_ take over the fight! Which, of course, counts as a loss for you, hm?"

 _Oh no_. "But I _didn't_ run away!" he cried, suddenly in a full-blown panic. This was a threat to his _reputation_!. "You can't be tellin' people I'm the sorta chump that-"

Nabiki's smirk slipped away. "I can tell them _whatever I want_ , Ranma dear. As long as it's plausible and matches up well enough with the photos, there's no reason they won't believe me." Though anger was rapidly rising within him, Ranma found himself at a loss for what to say. He wasn't used to fighting with words, and it wasn't like he could physically combat Nabiki. To his displeasure, the smirk returned in full force to Nabiki's face. "Too bad for you, though, huh? You were the favorite to win, so there's gonna be a lot of people at school that're pissed at you." With a wink, she added, " _Both_ versions of you."

Without another word, Nabiki turned and walked away. Today was _not_ going to be a good day...

"Why'd your loser brother run out on the fight!?" a student Ranko had never talked to before practically screamed, as she made her way to the school entrance. Ranma had decided today would be a Ranko day, in the hope that the jerks who had lost out on the fight would be nicer to his girl form than his guy form. So far, that wasn't working out.

"He _didn't_! Nabiki just didn't take pictures of 'im, but he was still in the fight, too!"

"Oh, so he needed your help to take that Ryoga guy on? That's cheating!"

"I-! But-!" Wanting to strangle this guy, Ranko slammed her mouth shut, realizing she had no idea how to argue her side. This whole dual identities thing had been working out great before, but now it was creating a situation that made it impossible to defend both identities' honor. "Okay, look, that wasn't actually what happened, but-"

"Enough of your excuses! You two owe me big for this, I bet _months_ ' worth of allowance-"

"I- _we_ don't owe ya squat!" Ranko shouted, fists clenched. "Now leave me alone or I'll beat ya like I did Ryoga!"

That _particular_ jerk finally took the hint, but there were many more to come as Ranko tried to make her way to homeroom. Growing increasingly angry, Ranko was close to slugging the newest complaining roadblocks when someone else pushed them aside forcefully, shouting, "Out of my way, cretins!"

 _Kodachi_! What a sight for sore eyes. Though Kodachi was a pain on Ranma days, today was a Ranko day, so-

"Ranko!" Kodachi shouted, fixing the red-head with a stare that was far less friendly than usual. Ranko felt her heart begin to sink. "What's this I hear about your accursed brother dueling with some random man I have never heard of!?"

And it plummeted. "Well, he _had_ kinda promised Ryoga a fight a long time ago, so-"

"And yet the lout refuses to duel _me_ , despite my _numerous_ requests!" Hah, _requests_ — more like _demands_. Still, if Ranko weren't already so irritated, she might've been able to acknowledge that Kodachi's angry pout was actually... very cute. "I insist that he acquiesces to a date and time _this week_ that he and I might duel!"

Trying to ignore the itch in her side that flared up whenever she considered going another round with the beautiful but underhanded bokken-wielder, Ranko shook her head. "He's _not_ gonna do it. He said ya don't fight fair and he just plain ain't interested. I won't be able ta change his mind."

Fists clenching, Kodachi's lip wavered right before she turned on her heel and marched away. ...That hadn't gone nearly as well as Ranma had hoped... but at least the hallway to homeroom was clear.

But the day's annoyances didn't stop just because class started. Throughout the rest of the day Ranko was assailed by angry students, whether by notes or in person. At lunchtime, she managed to get Yuka, Sayuri and Akane to agree to help defend her from those morons, though not without a snarky remark from the latter. That worked _reasonably_ well, but the fact remained that, at least for now, Nabiki had managed to ruin Ranko's ability to enjoy school. She wouldn't forgive the evil woman for that, yet at the same time, she felt helpless to actually do anything to stop the same thing from happening again in the future. Nabiki was, without a doubt, the most _infuriating_ person Ranko had ever met.

To Ranko's irritation, Akane and her puppy were nowhere to be found when she got back home after school. She'd wanted to vent her frustrations by trying to prove P-chan was Ryoga again. But now all she could do was some boring training exercises in the dojo.

Halfway through those exercises, Akane showed up, holding both P-chan and a pot of water. What...?

"If I let you pour some warm water on him, will you stop bothering the poor thing?" Akane said, looking irritated yet resigned.

Dour mood instantly lifted, Ranko smiled wide. "Yeah!" Eagerly grabbing the pot when Akane held it out, she wasted no time in pouring some of it directly on the squirming pup. Yet despite making some sad noises and wriggling so much that Akane had to hold it with both hands, no change occurred! But-! But she'd been so sure!

Holding the pot over her own head, Ranko poured, and sure enough, she felt a familiar tingle as she suddenly became taller than Akane again. So it _was_ the right temperature, and yet…

"Satisfied?" Akane asked, holding the sad puppy to her chest and glaring Ranma's way.

"No," Ranma readily admitted. "Lemme hold him and try one more time…"

Rolling her eyes, Akane frowned but handed the pup over. Once more Ranma poured water on the increasingly distressed puppy, and when nothing happened he set the pot down and lifted the dog up, looking it over as though there was some sort of trick to be found. But, of course, there was nothing there except a sad, wet dog, and Ranma knew it. Sighing, he handed the dog back to Akane.

"Well, uh… guess I wasn't on the right track with that, then." Rubbing at the back of his neck, he said, "I mean, I'm still sure Ryoga's gotta curse, but apparently _that_ ain't him."

"So you'll stop bothering us, then," Akane said, apparently _really_ needing verbal confirmation.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma muttered, not trying to hide his new sullen mood. "Oh, uh, that dog's a girl, by the way."

Akane's eyes went wide. "Wait, _really_?"

Nodding, Ranma said, "Yep, you've been wrong 'bout her gender this whole time. Good thing the name you picked out works either way."

"Y-yeah... Good thing!"

The rest of Ranma's school week didn't get any less upsetting. Students he could swear he'd never even seen before yelled at him, regardless of which form he was in, and despite threats from both himself and Akane, they rarely let up. But they weren't the _only_ ones - Kodachi was getting more and more emphatic about getting a "fair chance to duel", as she put it. Though she was certainly more aggressive on the two days Ranma went to school in his uncursed state, she was no less upset and insistent about the issue on Ranko days. But no matter what form he had to deal with her in, Ranma refused to budge on the idea of fighting her. Normally he'd be happy to accept a challenge to a fight, but with Kodachi… he just wasn't interested in fighting someone who'd already made it clear they were going to fight dirty - potentially _lethally_ so.

When Kodachi approached Ranko on Friday, the red-head prepared herself to give another tired refusal. But then she saw the look on Kodachi's face, and the words died on her lips. The other girl looked _haunted_ , her eyes red, puffy, and dead, expression despondent.

"Ranko," she croaked, looking somewhere to the left of Ranko's eyes. " _Why_ won't your brother fight me?"

"I-I told ya," Ranko started, trying to hide her shock, "he says ya don't fight fai-"

"Does he not know that _all_ is fair in love and war?" Kodachi said in a bitter whisper. Voice rising in pitch, she continued, "Does he not understand how _fervently_ I yearn for you? How _fiercely_ I wish for his continued obstruction of our love to cease?" Finding it difficult to maintain eye contact, Ranko allowed her gaze to drop to the ground for a few moments, while she tried to ignore how warm the hallway had suddenly become. Which left her unprepared for the moment when Kodachi's hands tightly gripped her shoulders, the other girl's head moving unnervingly close. The smell of perfume overtook Ranko's senses — roses and… was that mint? Whatever it was, it made it difficult to focus on anything besides that smell and the desperate, pleading, _beautiful_ face in front of her. " _Please_ , Ranko. You _must_ make him understand. I _need_ to duel him. I _need_ to prove my love for you in the face of the adversity he has presented!"

Though an increasingly large part of her wanted to give in, the ghost of a pain in her side refused to let her forget why she'd so staunchly refused to do so up to this point. "I… Kodachi, I _want_ to, but… he won't- I can't-"

Something in Kodachi apparently broke, because a moment later she was on her knees, face pressed against Ranko, bawling. Looking like a terrified, wide-eyed animal cornered by a predator, Ranko stared around the hallway, as if something in the nearby environment could solve this sudden problem for her. But there was no one and nothing around - the hallway was actually surprisingly empty. But what was she supposed to _do_ , then? People weren't supposed to just _break down_ like this! She couldn't even move away, with Kodachi pressing against her; the sobbing girl would fall. Tentatively, Ranko reached a hand out, patting the crying girl's poofy hair like it was a potentially violent dog.

"I-I, uh… there, there?" she offered, her voice rising unnaturally.

For a moment, the crying softened, but it soon returned to a sorrowful wail, as Kodachi pressed even harder against Ranko.

Something strange was happening in Ranko's chest. As though invisible vines were wrapping around her lungs and heart, squeezing them so hard that she almost doubled over. She had to make the crying stop, make Kodachi happy again like she used to be around Ranko…

"K-kodachi, what if… what if we just ignore him and start dating?"

The crying almost stopped altogether, its only remnants Kodachi's haggard breathing and sniffling. "Wh… what?" she said, quietly.

Reaching down and pulling Kodachi back up to her feet, Ranko forced a smile, hoping none of her nervousness was coming through. "What if we just ignore my idiot brother and we… we just, uh… start dating?"

For a moment, Kodachi simply stared, as though this offer was difficult for her brain to process. ...Hopefully that was a good thing? The sudden scowl on her face a moment later indicated otherwise. Sniffling, Kodachi said, in a firm, even tone, "I do _not_ want—" her breath hitched for a moment "—my love to be with me out of _pity_."

Taking a step back, Kodachi attempted to compose herself, wiping away some tears that were still on her cheeks, smudging her running makeup in the process. "Ranko, please, I…" A single tear rolled down her face. "I wish to prove my love for you. I _need_ to prove that no man can force me to shy away from my heart's desire. I want you to develop _genuine_ feelings for me, once you understand the _depths_ of my devotion." Looking away, she said, much more quietly, "Do not offer me this… this _farce_. ...I will not abide it."

Barely able to comprehend how badly she messed up, Ranma could do little but stand stock-still and stare. She'd just wanted… she didn't mean to… She _did_ like Kodachi, a little bit, but… Eyes falling to the floor, she sighed. There was no other way.

"..I'll do it. I'll convince him to fight you," she said, in barely a whisper.

Eyebrows rising in disbelief, Kodachi said, " _Truly_? You believe he will listen?"

Steeling her resolve, Ranko said, "Yes. But... only if you agree to a few conditions."

Nodding, face scrunched up in determination, Kodachi said, "Provided they are reasonable, I shall! What are your terms?"

"First off, an' most importantly - no _lethal_ weapons."

Kodachi rolled her eyes. "What a coward your brother is. A _true_ warrior would-"

Waving a hand, Ranko said, "Look, call him what'cha want, but he's not gonna agree ta fight unless ya agree not ta try an' kill him. And, I mean… I don't want ya to kill my brother, either, ya know? Imagine if _you_ had a sibling."

"I _do_ have a sibling," Kodachi said, crossing her arms with a huff. "Fine, I shall agree to that term."

Ignoring the curiosity that welled up within her about the mention of a sibling, Ranko pressed on. "Great. Second, he wants ta fight indoors somewhere. And, well, this is kinda a third thing I guess, but no one else needs ta know 'bout this fight. He had a bad time with the weather and a buncha jerks bettin' on the fight last time."

Though she was silent for a moment, Kodachi ultimately agreed to the terms. "But I _do_ have an alteration request for that third term. Perhaps we can each invite _one_ person to the fight? As witnesses, so there is no dispute over the victor."

With a shrug, Ranko said, "Fine. But no cameras."

Kodachi nodded. "And there is one more term that I must insist on." Ranko raised an eyebrow, but didn't interject. "He and I must _both_ use weapons to fight. In our last scuffle he disarmed me and immediately had a clear advantage. Fighting without a weapon must be strictly prohibited in this battle!"

"But-! He's not trained ta use weapo-"

"You mean to say one as cocky as him, one who claims to be _so_ skilled in the field of martial arts, would be afraid to wield a weapon aside from his body?"

Glaring, Ranko said through gritted teeth, "...No, he… he'll do it."

"Marvelous!" Kodachi said, smiling brilliantly. It almost made Ranko feel better about being goaded into a terrible decision. "Now then, all that remains is to determine the stakes. If _I_ win, then that boor needs to stop coming between you and I, and, _more_ than that, he must pledge his _support_ of our love!"

Trying not to roll her eyes, Ranko said, "Sure, he'll agree ta that. But _you_ gotta agree that if _he_ wins, you'll stop tryin' ta fight him, _and_ -" She paused, realizing she didn't actually want to finish that sentence. It had seemed like the natural thing, to request that Kodachi would stop romantically pursuing her. But… well it wasn't _that_ bad, receiving her affections... and the poor girl had already cried today, so why make her feel worse? "...And just that."

Looking like she'd just been asked to eat the most disgusting food in the world, Kodachi sighed. " _Fine_. I agree. Shall we shake on it?"

In silent agreement, Ranko outstretched her hand, and the two girls finalized the agreement. Kodachi's hand was warm, and rough, presumably from all the bokken training. Ranko had to admit… she enjoyed the feel of it.

"Ranko," Kodachi said softly, drawing the red-head's gaze. "May I…?" Her big brown eyes flicked down to Ranko's lips. Then, as a hint of red grew in her cheeks, her eyes darted off to the side. "M-may I… _hug_ you?"

Also blushing, Ranko rubbed the back of her head. "Uh, yeah. S-sure…"

Hesitantly, Kodachi moved forward, slowly wrapping her arms around the shorter girl. Ranko, too, slowly did the same. It felt… really nice. Warm, secure. There was something oddly satisfying about being the shorter one in the hug, too… And that perfume was once more overwhelming Ranko's senses. Dating Kodachi might actually be kind of nice, at least if more of _this_ was involved. But… but she wouldn't… if she found out about the curse… Frowning, Ranko tried to stuff the thought down, not immediately realizing that when she did so she also nuzzled her head into Kodachi's shoulder. Once realization struck, she froze. That was… she was a guy, she shouldn't be… this close to the other girl, though, Ranko could feel Kodachi's heart racing, and her breathing becoming a bit heavy. Something about having that effect… it was kind of amazing.

All good things had to come to an end, though. Slowly, clearly reluctant, Kodachi pulled away and looked at Ranko, face beet red and a few tears in her eyes. "I-I… thank you, t-that was…" Taking a step back, she bowed low, and shouted, "Until next we meet, my love!" Then she swiveled around and raced down the hallway until she was out of sight.

Was there a way Ranko could lose and still maintain her martial artist sense of honor? Probably not, but… She'd have to seriously contemplate that over the next few hours. Though even if she won, if she wanted, she and Kodachi… Of course, _technically_ Ranko was engaged, but… Ugh, there was no point thinking about it. She'd prepare for the fight, and whatever happened during it would happen, and she'd deal with the consequences. All she had to do now was wait. Oh, and to tell Akane about the whole thing, since that was who she planned to invite. She would probably take that okay, right? ...Right?


	14. Lost & Found (Kuno Strikes Back!,PartII)

Akane did not take the news of Ranma and Kodachi's fight okay. Her response involved, in order, a loud and angry "WHAT!?", an intense glare, and the drastic uptick of words like "stupid" and "idiot". It also lasted their entire lunch period, driving even Yuka and Sayuri away about halfway through.

Which was why, when Akane came running toward Ranko in the dojo that afternoon, the red-head almost bolted before a single word could be spoken. The tears in the other girl's eyes were the only thing that made her hesitate.

"P-Chan's gone!" Akane shouted, her fists balled and held to her chest.

"...Wow, that was quick."

The look of distress on Akane's face instantly turned to anger. "What's that supposed to mean?"

After a light shrug, Ranko put her hands behind her head. "I mean, I figured the dog would run for it eventually, with how hard ya kept squeezin' her. But I thought it'd be another week or so, at least."

"Why're you being such a jerk!?" Akane said, one fist shaking. "I lost my pet and that's how you react!?"

"Hey, you wasted my whole lunch period tellin' me what a moron I am, an' ya expected me ta be helpful now?"

Throwing her arms in the air, Akane said, "Yes! You agreed to something stupid, you deserved to be berated! And I thought you'd have at least a little compassion for someone who lost something dear to them!"

"Feh, ya found that puppy a few days ago," Ranko said, rolling her eyes. "Can't've been that dear ta ya already."

Bringing her shaking fists to her sides, Akane fixed Ranko with a glare that could raze cities. Teeth grit, she forced her words out one at a time. "If you don't help me find him I'm not going to your fight."

Doing her best to ignore the unease that Akane's so-far non-violent reaction was instilling within her, Ranko's mind lit upon a question. Did she have to bring someone to the fight? It didn't seem like a requirement. And yet… much as she hated to admit it, she did want Akane to be there, even if they were mad at each other at the moment. Swallowing down a snarky comment, Ranko sighed. "Fine. I'll help ya find your dumb dog."

The immediate smile that lit up Akane's face filled Ranko with a host of emotions that she quickly decided were best left unidentified.

But as the two of them searched the neighborhood to no avail, that bright smile slipped away. The longer they fruitlessly looked for the dog, the angrier Akane seemed to become. Which felt odd to Ranko… she'd have assumed Akane would be sad and distressed, but angry and irritated? It wasn't the dog's fault, it was just a dumb animal. By the time they returned to the Tendo dojo, Akane was in a supremely foul mood. The silver lining was that this mood wasn't directed at Ranko anymore.

"Um, not ta upset ya or anythin', but… I did help ya look, so…"

"Yes, I'll go to the stupid fight," Akane replied, glaring at an indistinct point on the ground. Her hands were balled into fists, as they had been for hours now, it seemed.

"A fight?" said a disingenuously friendly voice. Nabiki stood a few feet away, eager eyes fixated on Akane.

"Not now, Nabiki," Akane said, stomping away toward the main room.

Those awful eyes turned their gaze upon Ranko, eyebrows raising in an unspoken question.

"She lost her dog," Ranko said, shrugging. "An' I ain't tellin' ya a damn thing 'bout the fight."

That haughty smirk Ranko hated briefly flit across Nabiki's face, but fortunately she sauntered away without another word.

Later, at dinner, she had plenty of words.

"I'm not telling you a damn thing!" Akane shouted, for the fourth time.

Nabiki, more upset than Ranma was accustomed to, replied nearly loud enough to constitute a shout. "You sure you wanna keep saying that? Do you want me to start talking abou-"

Slamming her hands against the table, startling her father so much that he dropped his chopsticks, Akane said, "Really!? You're gonna try to threaten me, when you know my P-Chan is missing!?" Ranma, eyes wide, glanced back and forth between the two sisters, eternally glad he'd been left out of this particular conflict. Purposefully irritating Akane was one thing, but this felt like a whole other level of verbal conflict.

A quick glance at the other people sitting around the table revealed varying reactions to the situation, from Genma's mild incurious irritation, to Kasumi's knit brows of concern, to Soun's tear-filled eyes and wobbling lip. "Why don't you think about someone else for a change!?" Akane continued. "About how your sister is feeling right now, instead of about money you can make off her fiancé!?"

Usual cool nowhere to be found, Nabiki shouted back, gripping her chopsticks so hard that Ranma thought they might snap. "Don't bring him up like you care about him! I do think about other people! I'm sure your dog will show up again, I don't know why-" Cutting herself short, Nabiki slammed her utensils onto the table and turned away, still fuming. "Fine! Forget it. I hope you find your pet, sis." Then she stood and walked away, not looking back.

A heavy silence enveloped the table, the only sounds apart from breathing derived from Genma. The willfully ignorant man continued to eat as though nothing had happened, finishing a minute or two later with a satisfied sigh. Out of the corner of his eye, Ranma saw the old man take note that Akane, who sat right next to him, still had food left in her bowl.

"Akane, dear, were you planning on finishing that?"

Two seconds later, Genma had a bowl smashed into his face, its contents spilling down his chest, and Akane was stomping up the stairs to her room.

The next day's walk to the location of the fight - some boxing ring that Kodachi had assured him would be cleared out when they used it - was miserable, if a bit less so than Ranma had expected. The mood of his fiancée and walking companion could be described as both 'tense' and 'irritable', which resulted in every attempt at conversation quickly becoming a shouting match. He kept trying to impress upon her the fact that he didn't even want this fight, that he just couldn't stand seeing Kodachi cry anymore, yet Akane either wasn't listening or wasn't satisfied by this point no matter how many times he repeated it.

Eventually, they arrived at the boxing ring - a rather nondescript building from the outside. As Ranma's hand reached for the door, Akane apparently decided it was time to make another declaration. "After this we're searching for P-Chan," she said firmly, for the fourth time that day.

Ranma sighed. "Yes, I know." With no further remarks coming from his reluctant companion, he opened the door and stepped inside. A little ways down the entrance hall stood none other than Kodachi. Nearby, a little girl sat in a chair, something dark and fluffy in her lap.

Presumably hearing the door, Kodachi turned, her expression quickly shifting through happiness, surprise, and determination.

Donning a more neutral expression, she approached, leaving the girl behind. "Ranma! Finally you deign me with your presence!" Looking to Akane with a dazzling smile, she continued. "And Akane! How delightful to see you! But a day has passed, and yet that alone has been far too long." Though she continued facing Akane, her eyes darted back to Ranma as she added, "I must admit, 'tis a shock to have your welcome company today. Instead, I expected my red-haired goddess, this villain's sister, to be by his side."

"She couldn't make it," Ranma said with a shrug. "She really wanted to, if it helps."

"It does not."

Recognizing a conversational dead end for once in his life, Ranma looked over at the younger girl. "Who's the kid, anyway?"

"Ah!" Kodachi cried, bouncing on her feet and beaming. "This adorable child is none other than my own kin! My sister, Rui Kuno!"

"It's Tachi!" the girl shouted from the other end of the hall.

Kodachi's hand shot to her mouth in surprise. "Ah, my apologies, dear!" Eyes shifting to Akane, she said, "That is the nickname she has recently taken to using, due to its connection to my own."

Akane, who had been oddly silent this whole time, wasn't looking at Kuno at all. Her eyes instead fixated on who Ranma now knew to be his opponent's sister. Pointing, she shouted, "There's P-Chan!"

Following the line of her finger, Ranma took a closer look at Tachi. She looked a great deal like a younger version of her sister, even sporting the same side-ponytail. The main difference besides their age was the lack of makeup, and the fact that the girl's nose seemed a little too wide to fit a young Kodachi.

But it wasn't the kid that Akane's finger pointed to, but rather the fuzzy lump in her lap. It did look like a dog, now that he was actually paying attention to it.

"P-Chan?" both Kunos said, looking at each other and then back to Akane.

"My dog!" Akane said, a little less frantically, her eyes still locked to the fuzzy black mass. "I lost hi- her yesterday, and-"

Holding the dog tighter, Tachi said, "B-but…"

"The timeline most certainly fits," Kodachi said with a nod. "We found this pup outside our abode yesterday afternoon, and my dear sister immediately set her heart upon the notion of adoption."

"Heh, she and Akane would probably get along," Ranma said with a smirk.

"Ranma, would you shut your stupid mou-"

"Com'on, it wasn't even an insult!"

Shooting a glare Ranma's direction, Kodachi said, "Not to worry! We will, of course, return her to you! Though I am afraid doing so may break my caring sister's fragile heart."

Tachi's lip was already trembling. "Y-you mean Mana-chan has to go away?"

Almost too quickly for Ranma to comprehend, Kodachi and Akane crossed the hall and knelt down next to Tachi, a look of concern upon both their faces. Taking a moment to push away his mild surprise, he followed after them, his pace leisurely.

"Well, P-Chan is my dog, so yes, I'm going to take her back home," Akane said, her voice soft. Despite her overall firm demeanor, Akane's eyes shone with a kindness that Ranma had only managed to see a handful of times before. It was a wonder the same person could be so angry and violent, yet, at least sometimes, so kind and thoughtful. Smiling, Akane continued, "But, maybe we could work out a visiting schedule? Sometimes you could come to visit, and sometimes she could go to visit you?"

"Ah, Akane, what brilliance!" Kodachi proclaimed, smiling brightly.

Thoughts racing with unpleasant scenarios that could arise from this arrangement if the upcoming fight went sour raged throughout Ranma's mind. "Hey, but, if Kodachi comes with her, no weapons, right?"

Both Akane and Kodachi glared at him, but he refused to apologize. It was a valid concern!

"Do you really think I would sour such a pleasant visit for both Akane and my sister, just for a chance to smite you?"

"...Yes?"

Without another word, Kodachi turned back to her sister, though Akane kept glaring Ranma's way a while longer. "What say you, dear sister?"

Despite some sniffling, a tiny smile pushed its way onto the little girl's face. "I-I guess that could be okay… From everything Nee-san says, you're probably a good dog mom…"

"Everything she says, huh?" Akane said, raising an eyebrow at Kodachi.

"All good things, I assure you!"

Akane rolled her eyes. "Hah, don't worry, I wasn't worried about that."

Though he was unable to put a finger on it, something about the situation was really starting to bother Ranma. If he had come as Ranko… well, the fight wouldn't be happening, but also, he was pretty sure he'd be getting less hostile looks. Especially for that comment about Tachi and Akane being similar; he still felt like he'd been really on the mark with that one.

Well, the kid was smiling now, so surely the situation was over? Ranma felt confident he wasn't going to have a good time while he was here, not in this form anyway, and that fact was making him more and more antsy to get the fight over with.

"Hey, so… she's fine, right? And we gotta fight ta get over with, so..."

Standing to her feet, eyes boring into Ranma's like drills, Kodachi said, "For weeks and weeks you refused my requests, yet now you are impatient? Inconsiderate cur."

With that, she swiveled around and extended her hand to Tachi. "Come, dear sister. Let us not make the anxious cretin wait any longer!"

Still gripping Akane's dog, Tachi plopped out of her seat and grabbed her sister's hand. Expression blank and head cocked to the side, she stared at Ranma a moment before Kodachi pushed open the nearby door and the two of them walked inside.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Ranma glanced at Akane. "I wasn't that rude, was I?"

At first, Akane offered no response, instead rising to her feet and raising her eyebrows at him. "...I still think you're an idiot for agreeing to this fight in the first place."

Frowning, Ranma said, "That didn't even answer the question. You'd think gettin' your dog back'd lighten your mood…"

"It did," she said, sticking her tongue out a moment. "It's just that it's hard to see this ending well for anyone, since you're not gonna throw the fight or anything."

"I can't! She'd know, an' she wouldn't be satisfied!"

This time, only one of Akane's eyebrows raised. "Is that the only reason?"

Silence fell between them. After a few moments, Ranma crossed his arms and said, "Ya keep sayin' you're not a lesbian, but ya keep flirtin' with her…"

A smirk flit across Akane's face. "Now who's not answering the question?"

"Ranma! For a man with so little patience you are remarkably far behind!" Kodachi shouted from beyond the door.

Shrugging, Akane turned to follow after the Kunos, and a few seconds later a decidedly less eager Ranma followed suit.

"I see you've brought your weapon," Kodachi said as he approached, eyes flitting briefly to the item poking out from behind Ranma's shoulder. "I have brought my own as well, of course," she said, pulling a bokken out that looked exactly like the one that had nearly stabbed him in the face.

"...That ain't the normal one, is it? With the spikes?"

Both Akane and Tachi seemed confused by the question, but fortunately, he wasn't asking them. Bowing her head, Kodachi said, "It is not. Such a weapon would go against the rules of our agreement. You may examine it if you like."

"Nah, that's fine." There was a pause, during which Ranma decided to add some clarification. "Just know that if I see spikes come outta that thing the match is over an' I'm gone."

Bowing again, Kodachi said, "That seems only fair."

Eyes wandering around the room, Ranma quickly noticed that it did indeed seem to be a regular boxing gym. Various pieces of equipment sat or hung about the room, including staples like punching bags. There were also two folding chairs facing the ring, and, on the other side, a table, covered in various items. He might've thought it was just part of the room's usual decor, except that it was about as close to the ring as the chairs. Also, he was fairly certain a bowling ball had no place in a boxing gym.

"Hey, uh, what's up with that table?"

"Oh, that!" Kodachi grinned, baring her teeth. "Those are a few more instruments that either of us are free to use during our match."

Ranma narrowed his eyes. "...They're safe, right?"

"Well they're certainly not lethal," Kodachi said, still grinning.

Pushing aside the unease that response left in him, Ranma said, "Okay, but… the table seems kinda far from the ring. Are we allowed to get outta the ring for this fight, or…?

"Oh no, definitely not!" Kodachi said, shaking her head. "Leaving the ring is an instant loss for either of us. If you want something from the table, you'll have to figure out how to obtain it while staying within the confines of the ring."

He had a funny feeling that she already had a plan worked out to do exactly that. But he wasn't going to let it get under his skin. Walking over, he examined the items, balking as one in particular caught his eye.

"Is that a gun!?" he practically shouted, pointing at what looked like some sort of off-brand pistol.

Waving a hand dismissively, Kodachi said, "I assure you, it does not fire bullets. It meets your requirements."

Completely unassured, he eyed the other items on the table. The aforementioned bowling ball was there, of course, and a strange-looking pair of gloves ...were gloves a 'weapon'? If only he'd known that ahead of time! Wait, was that a water spray bottle? The gun and gloves disappeared from his mind as he instead fixated on the bottle. Why would that be there? How would that help in a battle? It's not as though spraying water would actually hurt an opponent - the only way it made sense was if Kodachi somehow knew of the effect cold water would have on him. But… she didn't, right? She'd given no indication! And why would she want to fight him in his usual form, if she knew about the other? It didn't make sense!

Mind whirling, he looked away from the offending bottle, doing his best to keep his emotions from showing on his face. If Kodachi managed to get ahold of the spray bottle, he'd just have to immediately take it out of play. That's all there was to it. It just shifted his priorities a little, but it didn't affect the fight in any real way. There was no reason to be concerned.

"Well, no need ta keep draggin' this out." Pushing down the concern that refused to be reasoned with, Ranma leapt into the ring, easily clearing the ropes and landing on the other side. Reaching a hand behind his back, he grabbed the end of his staff and pulled it around to the front, gripping it with both hands. He'd been lucky that his father'd had a bō staff to lend to him, though he knew it was best not to question where the thing had come from. His practice with it, and weapons in general, was minimal, but he felt confident that he could adapt to this one quickly, compared to other weapons. It was essentially an extension of his fists, in a way. Though, having looked at Kodachi's 'instruments', he couldn't help thinking that getting ahold of those gloves might allow him to go back to actually using his hands, like he preferred.

Climbing into the ring, Kodachi raised her bokken, determination and a hint of relief on her face. Despite it in many ways being against his best interest, Ranma related to both emotions. He'd been unwilling to admit it to Akane, but he just couldn't pretend to lose; he was just as determined to win as Kodachi. If Ranma Saotome agreed to a fight, then he had to give it his all, that was just how things were! It was a mentality that his father had drilled into his head for years, even if it often proved to be a "do as a I say not as I do" type of thing.

And then there was the relief. One way or another, this fight would put an end to the whole Kodachi mess, and though the possibilities for that resolution all seemed at least partly negative, he couldn't help but be eager for it to be over.

It was finally time for the fight.


	15. Kodachi vs Ranma (KSB!,Part III)

Not wanting to let his opponent take the first move, Ranma leaped forward, noticing a moment too late that Kodachi had pulled something out of her gi and hurled it. Fortunately, it sailed past him; it looked like some sort of ribbon - a strange choice of weapon for a bokken wielder. Not considering it a threat at the moment, he let his momentum continue to carry him forward, aiming to smack her in the side with his staff. Yet before he could connect she raced past him, following the trajectory of her ribbon. It was only after she'd passed that he noticed a slight weight on his wrist - a chain!?

Swiveling around, he stared after her, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. The ribbon was dangling over one of her hands, which now held a familiar-looking bowling ball. In her other hand, she held both a stick that the ribbon was connected to, as well as a chain that didn't seem to be connected to anything on her end. Yet on his end, it connected to a clamp that was firmly attached to his wrist.

"Kodachi, what the hell!? You came into the ring already holdin' three weapons!?"

Grinning ear to ear, she said, "I don't believe it was ever stated that we need only bring one! 'Tis not my fault you made such an assumption!"

Unsure of how to retort, Ranma's eyes moved to Kodachi's hands, watching in surprise as she quickly fed the chain into one of the holes of the bowling ball, back out another, and then tied it all together. Feh, was that all she had?

"Your big plan was ta weigh me down with a bowling ball?" he said with a smirk. "You really underestimate how strong I am!"

Grin fading, Kodachi said, "Truth be told, I had planned to chain you to the puppy, thinking that would cause you the greater distraction. But since she belongs to the wondrous Akane, there was a need for the plan to be readjusted."

"Nee-san!" Tachi shouted angrily, gripping the puppy tight. It looked upset - as upset as a little bag of fluff was able to look, anyway.

"Sorry, dear! 'Twas a bad plan, I admit!"

"Feh, a better one than this," Ranma said, jerking his hand back and sending the bowling ball arching through the air, crash landing onto the floor a little ways behind him. "See? It's nothi-"

"Ranma!" Akane shouted, a note of panic in her voice.

Turning to look at her, he found something else catching his eye - namely a cloud of gas that had suddenly appeared around the bowling ball. Taking a few steps back, he looked back at Kodachi. "Wh-what is that!?"

"Nothing lethal!" Kodachi said, her grin making a return. "Just a simple paralyzing agent!"

"Oh, is that all? Of all the underhanded-"

"Let's actually begin this thing, hm?"

Ranma received no time to respond as Kodachi rushed forward, ribbon in one hand, bokken in the other. He barely managed to roll to the side as Kodachi made an overhanded swipe at him, her bokken smashing into the floor of the ring. It slashed through the canvas and padding beneath them like tissue paper.

"Ooh, almost got him, Nee-san!"

Staring wide-eyed at the cut canvas, Ranma said, "Kodachi, I thought you said that thing wasn't-"

"It is not the blade I used before! There are no tricks here. I am simply far stronger than when last we fought!" she proclaimed, leaping at him again. Grabbing the hazardous bowling ball, he rolled desperately to the side, narrowly avoiding another blow that cut through the thick padding of the ring's floor.

"Are the people that own this place gonna be okay with you cuttin' it up like that?"

"There is no need for concern; I shall have anything that is damaged fixed or replaced." Pointing her bokken at him, she said in an even louder voice, "Focus upon yourself, rather than the gym, you cad! I have trained every day since our last fight, and I will not lose!"

She charged forward. Holding his staff with only one hand, Ranma swiped at her legs, but she managed to hop over it. If only he'd aimed a little higher! Wait, she wasn't charging at him anymore?

"Get up, Ranma! She's going for the table again!" Akane shouted, her hands balled into fists. Looking back at his opponent, he found he was already too late - the gun was in her hand. She was obnoxiously good at using that damn ribbon.

Not trusting her earlier 'assurance' about the weapon, Ranma leapt to his feet. Charging right at her, he vaulted into the air at the very moment she pulled the trigger. Briefly, he thought he'd managed to dodge whatever she'd fired, but then a pulse of electricity surged through him, starting with his leg, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

"You seem so much slower than when last we fought!" Kodachi said, laughing into the back of her hand just as she had done back then. "It seems I was the only one to train in all that ti-oof!"

Apparently too busy gloating to notice that Ranma wasn't yet down for the count, Kodachi's words were cut off by a staff jabbing into her gut, knocking her backwards. The taser gun clattered to the floor, and Ranma instantly grabbed it. Holding the wires extending out of it, he yanked the barbs out of his pants, then tossed the evil contraption as far out of the ring as he could muster.

"Enough of these stupid tricks!" he shouted, rising to his feet and brandishing his staff.

Unperturbed, Kodachi shouted "If you insist!" and swung her bokken at him. He easily dodged, yet again found himself falling to the ground as something wrapped around his feet. The damn ribbon!

Once again Kodachi leaped at him, but instead of dodging, he decided to make use of his weapon's longer length, smacking her backward before she could land a blow. It worked so well that it pulled the ribbon off his legs, sending him rolling across the floor in the process. Grabbing hold of the bottom rope, he barely managed to avoid falling off the side of the ring.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked to Akane, hoping he'd impressed her as much as he'd just impressed himself. But she wasn't looking at him, looking instead at whatever it was that Tachi was doing. Wait, where was the dog? Oh, Akane had it sleeping contentedly in her lap. So then Tachi was… drawing?

"Hey, Kodachi, wait a minute, will ya?" he said, holding a hand out while he got to his feet for a better look. The picture Tachi was drawing had a very familiar style to the drawings Ranma had once seen floating out of Kodachi's gi. "You mean she drew all those pictures?"

Walking over to stand beside him, Kodachi looked at Tachi's handiwork, a proud smile upon her face. "Ah, yes, of course! You thought I drew them?"

"Well, um, we both did, actually…" Akane admitted.

"Didn't know ya had a sibling back then, though," Ranma added.

Putting a hand to her chest, Kodachi said, "You two flatter me! Which is not wanted in your case, Ranma," she said, scowling. Apparently unable to keep it up, though, she smiled wide again. "I only wish I had the artistic talents of my dear sister! To think a 2nd grader could create such art!"

Twisting and turning, her face red and covered in a gigantic smile, Tachi said, "Nee-san, stop!"

"They are very nice," Akane said with smile and a nod, causing Tachi to bury her face in her hands.

Ranma squinted at the picture, desperately trying to figure out what the other two were seeing that he wasn't. As far as he could tell the drawing was just as basic and poorly drawn as the ones they'd seen before. It made more sense now that he knew a child was the source, but they still weren't exactly high art. "I mean, they're... fine."

The daggers that Akane and Kodachi immediately glared at him would have killed instantly, had they been tangible.

"Kick his ass," said Akane.

Apparently taking the suggestion of his supposed supporter to heart, Kodachi swiped at Ranma with her bokken. He moved low to dodge it, managing to score a staff hit to Kodachi's side in the process. Undeterred, she swiped down toward him, and he blocked with the only thing close enough to do the job - the bowling ball. Gas instantly sprayed outward, directly into his face. Holding his breath, he put all his strength into his arms, forcing the ball and the bokken upward, then leaped to the side, back toward the center of the ring. With most of the gas cloud left behind and the renewed ability to move his head away from the bowling ball, Ranma gasped for air, chest heaving.

Before he could get his bearings, however, Kodachi slashed at him again. He managed to move his body out of the way, but the bowling ball in his hands was slower to leave the bokken's strike range. The power of Kodachi's blow sent the ball flying, but Ranma, refusing to get pulled along, grabbed his chain-attached arm and braced himself. After a brief tug, the pressure stopped and the chain connected to the ball snapped, sending the ball soaring through the air. It flew out of the ring and directly into the wall, where it collided with such force that it stuck in place a meter or two above the ground. A notable hissing sound filled the room as gas poured out of the device without any sign of stopping.

"Aw, you broke it!" Tachi shouted with a huff.

Letting his arms fall, Ranma said, "Is that stuff gonna fill up the room if it keeps going, or…?"

"There is not nearly enough gas inside for that to happen. Worry about more pressing matters!" Kodachi shouted, going for a diagonal slash that Ranma didn't have time to dodge. Instead, he brought his staff up to block it, which worked for about a second before the staff snapped in two. Kodachi's bokken smashed into his side, sending him hurling into the ropes bordering the ring. It hurt, but a quick touch check proved it had only cut his clothes, not his skin. At least the staff had helped a little.

Frowning at the broken halves of his weapon, Ranma sighed. He was hardly surprised that something his father had lent to him had been cheap garbage, yet still, for her weapon to cut through it like that…

"Ya know, it's startin' ta feel like that bokken's more lethal than you've been lettin' on."

Giving another of those simultaneously creepy and condescending laughs, Kodachi said, "If it is so, it is due only to my great strength, not by virtue of the weapon itself. Will you run from the fight simply because your opponent's strength outmatches what you anticipated? Such a choice would certainly not be surprising, for a cowardly cretin such as yourself."

Ranma had never wanted to punch a girl in the face before, a fact he was no longer able to claim. Given he had to use a weapon, though… "Nah, I ain't runnin'." Gripping the remnants of his staff, he added, "You can have this, though."

Hurling them at Kodachi's face, he forced her to dodge and created a brief distraction. Launching the chain still connected to his wrist out, he knocked the gloves on the table into the air, then quickly hit them again to knock them into the ring. It was time for him to use one of those dirty trick weapons!

Smirking, he grabbed the gloves and pulled them on as fast as he could manage, filling with joy when Kodachi's eyes went wide. "You said we could both use them!"

"That I did," Kodachi said, that unnerving smile forming on her lips.

Why would she be…? A sudden tightness around his wrists forced Ranma to grimace, and a moment later his hands slammed together, pulled by a surprisingly strong force.

"He did it!" Tachi exclaimed. "Just like you said!"

"Hah, indeed he did, dear sister!" Kodachi said, smiling wide. Turning back to Ranma, she said, "Do you like them? I had them made just for you! They're set to fasten tight and magnetize once worn - truly a marvelous bit of technology! Dramatically fitting too, given the tragic overreliance upon your fists with which you seem to be afflicted."

"You're really sucking every bit of fun out of this fight, you know." Ranma said, shooting Kodachi a cold stare.

"If you're not enjoying yourself, might I suggest not dodging this attack? It will be over much quicker that way," Kodachi said, leaping forward to slash at him yet again.

It was an easy enough dodge, but a moment later he realized it had been too easy. Kodachi's ribbon was once more sailing through the air, grabbing the last item on the table - the water bottle.

Wait, had that been her plan this whole time? Get him to put the gloves on so it was harder to escape, then spray him to reveal his curse!? No! He wouldn't let that happen!

Rushing forward, he was only a meter or two away when she pointed the spray bottle right at him. Panicking, he dropped to his knees, sliding toward her as the bottle's contents erupted into the air. A loud "Ooh!" from Tachi could barely be heard over the sound of the flames that roared right above him, far too close for comfort. But both sounds stopped the moment his momentum brought him careening into Kodachi's legs, sending her and the bottle tumbling to the ground. Kicking the bottle out of both her hands and the ring, he rolled to the side and sprang to his feet.

"A flame thrower!?" Akane shouted.

Smiling weakly from the ground, Kodachi said, "There wasn't enough lighter fluid to kill him..."

"What is wrong with you!?" Ranma said.

A loud ringing pierced the air, silencing all conversation. "Ah, Nee-san, your phone!" Tachi said with a smile, reaching into her sister's oversized purse.

Not glancing at Ranma, Kodachi strode to the edge of the ring, bending down as her sister got up to hand the phone over. Tiny hands held the comparably giant phone up, and Kodachi took hold of it with delicate grace, despite the antenna catching on the lowest ring rope for a moment before she could bring it to her face.

"Kodachi Kuno, who is this?" She scowled. "Nabiki Tendo? Why are you calling!? I told you I have given up the search, so I no longer require new leads- I'm not sure that you can hear me with all the shouting that you're - Yes, Akane is here." Holding the phone away from her ear, still scowling, she looked toward Akane. "She very much wishes to speak with you."

"What's even goin'-"

Clamping his mouth shut and falling backward, Ranma dodged the immediate swipe of Kodachi's bokken, then did a flip to right himself. "It is not either of our concerns, you villain!" she shouted, swiveling around to face him once Akane had taken the phone.

"You're not even curious?"

"Curiosity has no bearing on the situation! If Akane wishes for us to know, she shall tell us!" She charged. "Now fight!"

But that high-minded position held no interest for Ranma. He made sure to pay enough attention to avoid Kodachi's attacks, which was made easier with the removal of that stupid 'instrument' table's tricks, but his focus was listening in on Akane's conversation.

"I told you no before, and nothing is changing that!" she said, not bothering to keep her voice down. "Stop yelling so much, I can barely make out what you're - Is there someone else in the background?" Kodachi's ribbon wrapped around one of Ranma's legs, but he managed to use the situation to rip the stupid thing out of her hands, tossing it out of the ring the moment he got his fingers on it. "Well if it doesn't matter then tell whoever it is to quiet down so I can hear - Stop trying to threaten me with that!" Though the effort hurt his arms, Ranma managed to pry the magnetized gloves apart, and nearly managed to clamp them back down on Kodachi's bokken. "Fine! But if you try to bring a crowd here I'll throw every single one of them and you out myself!"

Muscles burning from the strain of keeping his hands separated, Ranma slammed them together again, managing to capture Kodachi's swiping bokken directly between them.

"Yes!"

Pulling the bokken toward him, he managed to wrench it from Kodachi's surprised fingers. Rage overtook her face, and she launched herself forward, grabbing at her stolen weapon. The two collapsed to the ground as they struggled, rolling and elbowing each other in the shoulder, the gut, and even the face. A pair of fingers jabbed into his eyes forced Ranma to shout and shake his head, apparently giving Kodachi the chance she needed to wrestle the weapon away. She followed this devastating assault up with a kick and a roll, putting some space between them and a pain in Ranma's side.

Huffing and puffing, the two combatants slowly rose to their feet, scrapes and bruises visible on both their faces. Either blood or sweat trickled down Ranma's face, but he couldn't be bothered to attend to it. He just focused on breathing, and so did Kodachi, both of them taking a few precious seconds to recover.

The energy spent on dealing with these stupid gloves was too much. Ranma had to win this fight soon if he was going to win it at all. But his bokken-stealing plan had failed - what else could he do? He could swing the chain still dangling from his wrist at her, but she'd almost certainly dodge or deflect it. And that was the only weapon he had left!

...Or was it? Glancing at the table outside the ring, a plan quickly formed in his mind. He had no idea if it would work, but it was his best and last shot.

With a shout, he looked Kodachi directly in the eye and charged at her. Though she seemed momentarily surprised, she quickly followed suit, charging at him with her bokken to her side, ready for a devastating horizontal slash. As soon as they were close enough for her blade to hit, Ranma jumped, leaping clear over not only her blade, but her entire body. The second he hit the ground he continued running, leaping once again once he reached the ropes.

Flattening his body, he grabbed the top ring rope by the tips of his toes and stretched his arms out. Pulling his hands ever so slightly apart, he just managed to grasp the edge of the table that all of Kodachi's weapons had once sat upon. Lifting the table up the tiniest bit, he scrunched his legs, moving it closer to the ring. With a deep inhale, nearly every muscle in his body strained to the limit, he leaned back, bringing the heavy wooden table high up into the air. Letting himself fall backward, the last thing he saw before the table came crashing to the ground was a look of terror on Kodachi's face from her position directly behind him, her bokken held high for an attack that she wouldn't get the chance to make.

Crayons clattered to the ground. "Nee-san! Noooo!"

Panting, Ranma hopped back to the floor of the ring, next to the table that was currently smothering his opponent. He lifted it up a small bit, eyes glancing around for Kodachi's bokken. With one smooth motion he grabbed it and tossed it out of the ring. The threat removed, he flipped the table over, letting the disheveled woman beneath breathe easier.

"So that's…" He took a breath, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his arm. "That's a win for me then, huh?"

Kodachi, lying on her back, glared silently. After a moment, she raised a fist and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Looking away, her hand flopped to the side, hanging over the edge of the ring.

Grinning, Ranma turned toward Akane and Tachi. "I'm gonna take that as a yes!" Wait… neither of them were looking at him, but at something behind him? And Tachi was happy, while Akane was horrif-

He swiveled around, but it was too late. Something was hurtling through the air toward his head, and even reflexes as quick as his own couldn't dodge it. His mouth went wide in horror as it smacked him square in the face. The first sensation he felt was a slight stinging, followed by an immediate rush of cold and wet.

Wiping the remains of the rubber balloon off her face, Ranko locked eyes with Kodachi, who, predictably, looked horrified.

"R-ranko?" she practically whispered, pushing herself to her knees.

Spitting water out of her mouth, Ranko shouted, "Yeah, it's me, ya figured it out!" Pushing her hair out of her face she continued, "But why the heck did ya even throw that if ya didn't know!?"

Touching her fingers to her bottom lip, Kodachi said, "N-nabiki… s-she said cold water was his - or - y-your only true weakness..."

Rolling her entire head back in exasperation, Ranko said, "Freakin' Nabiki. ...Where'd that damn thing come from, anyway?"

Staring at the soaked ground, Kodachi said, "I… I had many of them taped beneath the ring's edges." Swallowing, she continued, "I had… I had briefly entertained the notion that you were both the same person, but… but it was too preposterous! How… could this be?"

Ranko lifted a hand up to wave dismissively, instead reminding herself that her hands were still encased in gloves - albeit slightly more loose-fitting ones. She settled on a shrug. "Look, we can talk about it late-"

"Your hands!" Kodachi shouted, leaping to her wobbling feet. "And the chain… and the - the trick bokken from before!" Moving to Ranko as fast as her shaky legs seemed capable of carrying her, Kodachi pulled two keys out of her pocket, and set to work unlocking Ranko from both the gloves and the chain. "Ah, my love, I have fought so dishonorably against you time and again! How could anyone ever forgive a soul so wretched as mine own?"

"You didn't know!" shouted a small, insistent voice from behind them. "And all's fair in love in war! You taught me that, Nee-san!"

Ranko craned her neck to look back, noting that both Tachi and Akane had moved to stand at the edge of the ring. Crayons still littered the ground, and Tachi's eyes barely peeked over the top of the ring. P-chan was still in Akane's arms, looking right at Ranko. It seemed silly to assign human emotions to an animal, but still, Ranko couldn't help but feel like the pup seemed rather… sad.

"We did try to tell you," Akane said, looking only half as exasperated as she did whenever Ranma pushed her buttons.

Rubbing the back of her head with a newly freed hand, Ranko turned to look at Kodachi. "Heh, it's fine, really," she lied, hoping to prevent more tears. "Just don't use that sword with the spikes on me ever again, 'kay? Oh, an' that flame-thrower. An' the poison gas ball. None of it, really."

Strong arms were suddenly thrown around Ranko's shoulders, a familiar perfumed scent washing over her senses, mixed with an unsurprising hint of sweat. "Oh, Ranko, truly you are too kind. I don't know that I can ever repay such kindness!"

Leaning ever so slightly into the hug, Ranko tried to prevent a smile from crossing her face. She would never admit it, but in that exact moment, despite everything, Kodachi's hug was repayment enough.

A loud boom sounded through the room, startling everyone. It sounded as though it had come from the wall behind Akane and Tachi. Had someone hit-?

Ranko's heart plummeted into the bottom of her chest.

Another loud boom shook the building. Ranko urgently pushed Kodachi away, and turned to look at the wall. It was cracked and curving inwards, just like she'd expected. She took a shaky step backward.

One last thundering boom was followed by the sound of drywall crumbling to the ground, a new hole successfully pounded into existence. Through that hole leaped the embodiment of Ranma's worst fears.

Landing only a few meters away from Akane, a purple-haired demon in the form of a woman pointed a chúi directly at Ranko. In her other hand, the woman held Ranko's second least-favorite person - Nabiki Tendo, looking much more comfortable with the situation than seemed appropriate.

"Where Ranma!?" Shampoo shouted, murderous intent clear in both her glinting red eyes and her sharp, clear voice.

There was only one thing Ranko could do: run.


	16. Are You Even Interested? (SBT, Part I)

Someone had just forced their way through a solid wall. A purple-haired someone who was strong enough to accomplish that feat one-handed, while carrying Akane's sister in her other hand. And now that person was right in front of Akane, glaring around the room and demanding to know where she could find Ranma. ...It always seemed to come back to him, lately, didn't it?

Gripping P-chan tight, Akane glared right back at the red eyes of the formidable woman. "Why do you want to know?"

The woman pointed her weapon at Akane. Then she spoke, quickly, and in a language Akane couldn't understand.

"Do you know what this strange woman is saying?" said Kodachi, looking down from the ring at Akane, one arm still looped around a panicked-looking Ranko's shoulder.

Akane shook her head. "No."

"Allow me," said Nabiki with a smirk, still sitting in the woman's hand. _Nabiki_. She'd sounded panicked over the phone, fearful, even. But now she was back to her usual cocky self. What had changed?

Brandishing a small book that Akane could just make out the word 'Mandarin' on, Nabiki continued. "She's saying something about tribal laws, and Ranma having fought her in the past, and… that she has to kill him."

 _"One at least, yeah."_ When Akane had asked, weeks ago now, if anyone was trying to kill Ranma… that's what he'd said. So this… _this_ was the person? This super strong, Mandarin-speaking woman? Akane glanced back at Ranko, whose panicked eyes were locked onto the intruder. She looked like a deer in headlights, and Akane realized with surprise that if Kodachi didn't currently have an arm around her, Ranko probably would have bolted already. It looked like she was pushing back a little against Kodachi, as though her legs were subconsciously trying to backstep her away from the obvious threat.

Fierce eyes turning to Nabiki, Shampoo yelled again. "Where Ranma!?"

"Like I told you," Nabiki said, smiling sweetly, "you'll have to ask her." Pointing a finger directly at Ranko, Nabiki grinned as all eyes turned toward the red-haired martial artist.

Lowering her weapon to her side, the strange woman softly set Nabiki down, the two of them sharing a strange smile and an odd look before the woman strode over to the ring. What… what was _that_? That look in Nabiki's eyes, currently trained on the purple-haired woman's back... _What had happened between now and Nabiki's frantic phone call!?_

A loud thud brought Akane out of her own head. She turned back to the ring, which the aggressive woman had apparently just leaped into. Kodachi also leapt into action, pushing Ranko behind her so that she stood as a barrier between the other two women in the ring.

"Now see here," Kodachi said, throwing her arms out to further her protective aura. "I'm not sure why you would want to hurt this… this _Ranma_ character, but I can assure you-"

The woman's eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. Then, suddenly, that glare disappeared, replaced with a bafflingly different expression. If Akane didn't know any better, she'd describe it as… _sultry_!? But then, maybe she didn't know better, since now the woman's eyes were raking up and down Kodachi's form.

Rushing forward to close the distance between them, the woman pressed a finger against Kodachi's lips. "You stay out this, hm? Shampoo give reward later if so!"

Shampoo? Was that the woman's name? And… a reward? What in the hell?

Eyes wide and cheeks flushed, Kodachi pulled away slightly. "I-I… I appreciate the, ah, affection, but, I… I must defend my red-haired goddess, you understand. So surely we can-"

The sultry look disappeared from Shampoo's face just as quickly as it had appeared. What remained was mostly a blank stare, with a hint of… pity?

"Sorry, beautiful," was all Shampoo said before she shoved Kodachi to the side so hard that the poor girl launched completely out of the ring and flew through the air, not stopping until she crashed into the wall just like her bowling ball had earlier.

"NEE-SAN!" Tachi shouted, immediately running toward her sister. P-chan barked loudly in Akane's arms. Before her brain had even fully processed the situation, Akane's feet started sprinting in the same direction as Tachi. She spared one last glance at the ring, enough to see Ranko sprinting away with Shampoo in pursuit, before she turned her attention fully to Kodachi.

Now that she was looking, Kodachi had actually hit the wall _very_ near to where that bowling ball of hers had embedded itself - near enough to slump to the floor in a light cloud of paralyzing vapor that still hadn't completely dissipated. Holding her breath, Akane stopped Tachi in her tracks and handed her the struggling P-chan, then rushed over to Kodachi, dragging her out of and away from the gas as quickly as she could.

Laying Kodachi down on the ground a safe distance from the bowling ball, Akane looked her over. "Are you alright?" she asked, looking Kodachi directly in the eyes.

"As alright as one can be in such a situation," Kodachi said with a small laugh. Her neck strained as she tried to sit up, to no avail. "Ah, it seems my treacherous paralyzing agent has done its job."

Giving Kodachi another once-over, Akane muttered, "You don't seem to be bleeding, at least…" She didn't seem to be in any critical danger, though a trip to a doctor was still definitely a good idea. But first, there was something else Akane needed to attend to.

"Tachi," Akane said softly, putting a hand on the sniffling child's shoulder. "I think your sister is going to be alright. Can you look after her for a moment while I try to figure out what's going on?"

Apparently too upset to speak, Tachi nodded, her lip shaking as tears and snot streamed down her face. Squeezing the still struggling and growling P-chan, Tachi kneeled down next to her sister and took her hand, receiving a smile from Kodachi for the effort. "Worry not, dear sister, I will be fine! I just... cannot move my body for a little while."

Though part of her desperately wanted to stay to comfort the siblings, Akane stood back up and marched over to her own sister, glaring all the way.

No doubt noticing Akane's expression, Nabiki had the decency to look a little guilty for once in her life. "Now, Akane, I can see you're upset, but-"

"Don't!" Akane said, raising a hand up like it was a stop sign. "I don't want to hear a _word_ from you unless I ask for it!" Nabiki's mouth clamped shut, her eyes casting about the room as though something in it might save her from this situation. "When you called earlier you said this was a _life or death_ situation! You sounded _terrified_! But then you bust in here with… with _her_ , looking all smug in her arms, and just… what in the _hell_ is going on, Nabiki!?"

"It _was_ a life or death situation, honest!" Nabiki said, throwing her arms out dramatically, a gesture Akane wasn't used to seeing from her. "Look, I was just minding my business in _our house_ , a place we're supposed to be _safe_ in, when Ranma's idiot panda father ran up to me, picked me up, and literally _threw_ me at that woman! She'd apparently followed him to our home, and the creep decided to use _me_ as a distraction so that he could get away!"

 _Genma_. Akane had never liked Ranma's father very much, and every time she heard more about him it just made her dislike him all the more. Ranma could be a pain in the ass, but given who raised him, Akane was starting to realize that Ranma had turned out pretty great afterall.

With a small sigh, Akane said, "Okay, well… that's awful. I'm sorry that happened."

" _Finally_ you spare your sister some compassion!" Nabiki said, crossing her arms. Maybe taking a hint from Akane's unimpressed expression, she continued with her story. "So, anyway... this murderous wild woman, who later said her name's Shampoo… she points one of those big round weapons at me and _demands_ I take her to Ranma. She's yelling this at me, mind, while _pointing a weapon at me_! And _that's_ when I called you! I had to find out where you were, since I knew you and Ranma had come to this fight that you _refused_ to tell me about. Once you and I stopped talking, I said I knew where to find him, and she literally just scooped me up in her arms and launched herself into the air with those strong legs of hers."

Sighing again, this time in utter exasperation, Akane said, "That still doesn't explain why you two seemed to be on such good terms by the time you got here."

That familiar smirk returned. "Heh, well, I mean… it felt pretty nice to be held in a strong woman's arms, I gotta admit." Akane could feel her cheeks growing warm. Her sister, _Nabiki_ , enjoyed something like that? "And, well, one thing led to another, and… let's just say Shampoo's a good kisser."

"...WHAT?"

Giving a small shrug, Nabiki said, "Look, I usually go for guys, but it's hard to resist a good-looking girl when she's offering, you know?"

Akane _did_ know, but this was also… this was too much. "Okay, okay, stop. I… I can't right now."

" _You_ asked."

With her deepest sigh yet, Akane turned away from her sister and dashed back over to the Kunos. P-chan seemed to have calmed down a little. He looked up at her from Tachi's arms when she approached, cocking his head to the side questioningly.

"Are you two okay?" Akane asked, kneeling down beside them and gently taking P-chan back from a reluctant Tachi. The younger girl nodded, her lip still pouting. Her eyes glanced at P-chan, and her whole face wobbled, like she was close to completely breaking down.

"We are _fine_ , dear Akane! Please, I worry about _Ranko_ … That woman was… very strong. And Ranko seemed terrified of her."

Akane nodded. Standing up, she walked a pace or two away and held P-chan up to her face. "I know you want to go running off after them too, Ryoga," she said quietly. "But I need you here to keep watch over the Kunos. Kodachi's really vulnerable right now, and you're a source of comfort for Tachi. Can you stay with them for now, please?"

The little dog in front of her face seemed miffed, but still nodded its head and gave a small 'ruff' of acknowledgement.

"Thanks, Ryoga," Akane said with a smile. "You're a good guy."

Handing the human-turned-pup back to Tachi, Akane let the Kunos know that she was going after Ranko. Then she turned to Nabiki. "You and I have _got_ to talk later."

Not waiting for a response, Akane sped off, hoping the trail wasn't too cold.

It definitely wasn't. Carnage in the form of crumbling walls, dented parked cars and damaged roofs left a clear trail to follow, and before long Akane was able to make out panicked screaming and angry Mandarin-laced yelling.

There they were, just a few rooftops ahead! And Shampoo was facing _away_ from Akane… Moving as quickly and quietly as she could, Akane managed to sprint and leap her way to the rooftop that the other two fighters were now toward the opposite end of without making her presence known.

Now, what to attack with? Akane was a bit more sure with her fists… but she'd have to get much closer with those than she would if she used her legs. Running up as quietly as she was able, Akane launched a leg into the air, aiming for Shampoo's back. The purple-haired woman _just_ started to turn her head when Akane's higher-than-expected kick collided with the back of Shampoo's skull, knocking her face-first into the roof. Both Akane and Ranko stared, wide-eyed, as a smile creeped across Akane's face. _She'd done it!_

But the swell of pride didn't last long. Akane felt something slam into her feet, knocking her backward onto the roof. Shampoo pulled her outstretched leg back and rose to her full height, a trickle of blood dribbling from her nose and pure rage in her eyes. Pointing that giant heavy ball at Akane's face, Shampoo jabbed it forward so quickly that Akane could only stare like a deer in headlights as death rushed to meet her.

Fortunately, someone else moved quickly enough to prevent Akane's head from getting smushed. Ranko sweeped Akane into her arms, rolling the both of them out of harm's way.

As the two of them started to sit up, Ranko said, "Akane, you've got-." Shampoo's foot slamming into Ranko's stomach cut off the rest of the sentence, sending the red-head tumbling backward. Eyes back on Akane, Shampoo swiped at her with that odd weapon again. It slammed into Akane's side and launched her into the air, flying off the rooftop they'd been on and over an adjacent one.

...How did Ranma recover from being thrown airborne? He usually, like… rolled or something? Akane wasn't sure how and the next rooftop was coming in awfully fast… But again a pair of small, rough hands grabbed her, pulling her to the right, as Ranko came to the rescue for a second time.

"You shouldn't have come, you idiot!" she yelled, as their trajectory landed them safely on another rooftop. "Shampoo is _way_ too-"

"I was _worried_ about you, you jerk!" Akane shouted, shuffling herself awkwardly out of Ranko's arms. "She knocked Kodachi aside like she was _nothing_ , and I know you're strong, but you were _obviously_ terrified, and I just-"

" _Terrified?_ " Ranko shouted, crossing her arms. "That's not- I wouldn't… Well _that's_ exactly why you shouldn't have-!"

A loud crashing sound interrupted the fight. "Shampoo interrupt quarrel of lovers?" the woman said mockingly. Wiping the blood from under her nose, Shampoo looked between Ranko and Akane, glaring at the latter but putting on that sultry look from before for Ranko. "No need fight, pretty girl. You tell Shampoo where Ranma, Shampoo make you _very_ happy. Better lover than _this_ girl."

Akane felt as though she'd been slapped directly in the face. How… how _dare_ she! Looking at Ranko, hoping for some sort of rebuttal, instead Akane found the red-head's face now matched her hair, her eyes wide as dinner plates. Stupid, idiotic pervert! _Ugh_! Turning back to Shampoo, Akane said, "We are _not_ lovers, but also, how dare you just _assume_ -"

Rage flicked back into Shampoo's eyes like a lightswitch being flipped. She pointed her weapon at Akane. "Violent non-warrior girl keep mouth _closed_. Only reason you not dead is warrior girl here save you. Shampoo _no care_ how good lover are you."

Had Akane ever wanted to hit someone in the face as badly as she did now? ...Not that she could recall. But before she could do something she'd regret, Ranko moved in front of her, arms out in a pacifying manner.

"Shampoo, look, you're right! Why keep fighting?" Taking a few steps closer to Shampoo, Ranko pushed the other girl's weapon down to point at the ground, smiling. "I'll, uh… I'll tell you what you wanna know, okay?"

Grabbing the front of Ranko's top, Shampoo lifted her into the air with ease, eyes narrowed. "You no lie at Shampoo?"

With a short, nervous laugh, Ranko said, "N-no! I'll tell ya! Just promise you'll leave Akane over there alone, 'kay?"

Shampoo's eyes darted toward Akane and then away again. She sighed. " _Fine_ , Shampoo no crush stupid girl's head." Lowering Ranko to the ground momentarily, Shampoo scooped her back up, cradling her much as she had Nabiki. Then she began to walk away, not sparing Akane another glance.

What, that was it? Akane clenched her fists. So, what, she was just supposed to go _home_ now? _Ranko_ would take care of the rest? Furious, she stomped her foot, shaking the tiles that had come loose when Shampoo had slammed into them. Akane was _not_ going to let it end like this. Whatever Ranko's stupid plan was, it wouldn't work for long… not without getting her killed, at least. But if a kick to the back of the head hadn't knocked Shampoo out, how could…?

She glanced down at the loose tiles. They looked pretty heavy. Bending down to pick one up, she nodded - _very_ heavy. And thick. Shampoo's feet had easily broken a few of them… but they'd had the force of her whole body behind them. If one of these tiles slammed against Shampoo's _head_ , though…

Well, it was worth a shot. Or, at least, Akane managed to convince herself that it was. She pushed aside the other likely possibility, which was that she just _really_ wanted to hit Shampoo in the face.

Standing back up, Akane rushed toward the other two, who were nearly at the edge of the roof. Before she was close enough to swing, though, Shampoo started turning her way. But Akane refused to back down. "Don't make Shampoo kill y-" was all the purple-haired girl managed to get out. Her eyes hadn't even moved to look at Akane before a roof tile smashed into the side of her face with all the force that Akane could muster. The tile shattered like glass, Ranko leapt away like a rabbit, and Shampoo dropped like a rock.

Shampoo's weapon rolled out of her hand. Her body lay still. Akane could just barely make out the small rise and fall of Shampoo's chest, so she hadn't accidentally _killed_ the girl. Akane'd been mad, but she had no desire to ever hurt someone _that_ bad.

"No no no no no no no no…" Ranko said, pacing back and forth. "Akane, we gotta go, we gotta go _now_."

"What? Why? She's out cold."

"She ain't gonna stay that way and we can _not_ be here when she wakes up!"

Grabbing at the heavier-than-expected weapon that had started sliding toward the roof's edge, Akane said, "Well she doesn't have _this_ anymore, and if we tie her up-"

"That's _not_ the reason!" Ranko practically screeched, looking nearly as panicked as she had when Shampoo had first arrived. "And are _you_ holding some rope that I'm not aware of?"

"Gàn... wǒ de tóu…" Shampoo said, clutching at her head and slowly sitting up. Ranko tried to turn and flee, but Akane grabbed her arm and refused to let go. Eyes flitting around as she assessed her situation, Shampoo sighed. "Which one hit Shampoo?"

"Me!" said both Akane and Ranko at the same time.

Frowning, Akane said, "Ranko, what the hell!?"

"It was _me_ , Shampoo, she's just tryin' ta cover for me." Ranko said, voice shaking, but strong.

Sitting up to her knees, Shampoo smiled and said, "What name, pretty girl?"

The confusion that appeared on Ranko's face made it clear she'd been expecting a different reaction. "U-um… it's… it's Chie."

And now _Akane_ looked confused.

"Chie, accord to Nǚjié zú tradition, warrior woman who defeat Nǚjié zú warrior become wèihūnqī. Chie and Shampoo engaged now."

"Wha-"

"WHAT!?" Akane shouted.

Before either shocked woman could say anymore, Shampoo leaped to her feet, pulled Rank - er, apparently now _Chie_ \- close, and slammed their lips together passionately. While Akane still had a hold on Ranko's arm. She could see tongue.

Face suddenly boiling hot, Akane yanked Chie away and glared daggers at Shampoo. "What the hell is going on!? You're _engaged_ now!?" Shaking Chie like a rag doll, she said, " _She_ wasn't even the one that knocked you out! _I_ did that!"

"Violent girl stop lie!" Shampoo said, yanking on Chie's other arm. " _You_ no warrior! You mean, violent girl who no good fighting! You _never_ beat Shampoo! Stop lie just cause you jealous."

Somehow her face grew even hotter. " _I AM NOT_ -" She stopped, gripping Shampoo's weapon tight and gritting her teeth harder. "This is _stupid_!" she shouted, chucking the weapon as far as she could throw it. Shampoo gasped, immediately letting go of Chie. She dove after her far-flung weapon and out of sight.

"We're leaving. _NOW_." Akane said, still gripping Chie's arm like a vice. Without waiting for confirmation, she ran in the opposite direction than she'd thrown Shampoo's weapon, getting back to ground level as quickly as she could.

The two ran in silence. After about five minutes of that, Chie said, "Akane… _Akane_. We're… we're not going the right way."

Sharply turning toward Chie, Akane shouted, "How do _you_ know where I'm going!?"

"I-I… um… figured you wanted to go back to the Kunos… check up on them…"

As though it were a popped balloon, Akane's anger left her all at once. Visibly deflated, she sighed. "...Yeah. You're right."

"You're also, um.. Holding my arm _really_ tight."

Releasing Chie's arm at once, Akane crossed her own arms and sighed again, deeper this time. "Sorry… Lead the way?"

With a quick nod, Chie started walking, and Akane silently followed. With no Shampoo in sight, the two of them wordlessly decided to keep it to a quick walk, rather than a run.

Minutes passed without further conversation. Finally, after what felt like an hour but couldn't possibly have been that long, Akane said, "So. Changing the name of your, uh… other identity?"

Silence. Chie kept looking straight ahead. "...Yeah. Ranko was kinda, a uh… spur of the moment thing from years ago that I just kinda kept… Been thinkin' a changin' it for a bit now."

"Hm." They walked in silence for another minute or two. Then Akane sped up so that she was walking next to Chie, instead of behind her. Glancing over at her, voice soft, she said "It's a very cute name. ...Good choice."

A small smile appeared on Chie's face. The two of them walked in silence the rest of the way.

When Akane and Chie got back to the building that they'd left the Kunos and Nabiki at, they found only the latter still there. Nabiki explained that she'd called some paramedics, who had taken both Kunos and P-Chan away. The paramedics hadn't _wanted_ to take the dog, but no one could convince Tachi to let go of it, and eventually they relented. Nabiki had taken it upon herself to stay behind, assuming at least Akane would come back eventually, wanting to know where everyone had gone.

Akane curtly thanked her sister for the information, said she'd meet her at home, and then dragged Chie right back out of the building.

"Wait, aren't we _both_ going home?" Nabiki called after her. But Akane paid the words no mind, instead walking Chie a block or two away, where she then slumped against the side of a building with a deep, long sigh.

After a few moments of silence, Chie spoke. "You… don't wanna go home yet?"

Akane shook her head. "No. _She'll_ be there. And I _especially_ don't want to walk home _with_ her. There's… a lot she and I need to talk about, and I'm just… not ready yet."

Chie knelt down next to her, rocking back and forth on her feet. "...You wanna… go get some ice cream or something?"

Some time later, the two girls sat at a booth in a small ice cream parlor, Chie busy shoveling a massive stack of ice cream into her mouth, Akane lethargically picking at her much smaller mound of ice cream with a plastic spoon.

Shifting her eyes from the ice cream to Chie's messy face, Akane said, "Rank, sorry… _Chie._ What, um… Why is Shampoo trying to _kill_ you? Or a version of you, I guess. The one she's not apparently _engaged_ to."

Cheeks full of food and eyes wide, Chie took a minute to swallow her food before answering. "Well, uh… There was this whole, ah, _misunderstandin'_ , more or less? Me an' Pops were travelin' through Shamp's village, an' there was this big table with all this _delicious_ lookin' food. An', well, look, I tried to find someone to, like, _ask_ if we could have some'a it, but Pops wasn't waitin', and I hadn't eaten all day, so I might've taken a bite or two."

"What, it was her birthday feast, or something?"

Chie shook her head. "Nah, nothin' like that. There was some kinda tournament goin' on, that Shampoo was fightin' in. She won, too! And, well…" She sighed. "Apparently we were already halfway through her victory feast."

"Of course."

Gesturing lazily with her spoon, Chie said, "So Shampoo was real mad, but I figured, hey, tournament goin' on, what if I fight her for it? Then if I won, no problem, right?"

"And so you lost?"

Slapping an open hand against the table, Chie said, "What!? 'A course not! I'm Ran, well… I mean right now I'm _Chie_ Saotome. But I'm a Saotome, that's what's important! So I beat her, a'course!"

Well now Akane was confused. "Is she just… a petty loser?"

"No... Or, well, maybe? I dunno. How our guide explained it as we ran away from tha village is that outsiders like me an' Pops aren't actually supposed ta participate in the tournament? Or, well, seems like beatin' one'a the villagers was the big sore spot. Prob'ly would'a been fine if I'd lost. But that wasn't an option, so…" Akane rolled her eyes, but didn't interrupt. "So then Shampoo kissed me, kinda like earlier, but with those 'kill' eyes'a hers instead'a the luvvy-dubby ones. And, accordin' to the guide, she vowed to follow me to tha ends of tha earth if she had to, in order ta kill me."

"That's awful," Akane said, matter-of-factly. "I'm sorry you've had to deal with that."

Having a hard time meeting Akane's eyes, Chie scooped a modest amount of ice cream into her spoon. "Uh… thanks. Not your fault, 'a course. But it's not like Pops ever 'pologized. He took tha first bite, after all."

 _Genma_. "What's _wrong_ with him, anyway? What kind of idiot leads himself and his kid not only into a cursed training ground, but into a village of dangerous people like Shampoo? What kind of irresponsible _moron_ actually _uses_ a cursed training ground, and then just eats a bunch of food off a table that _he didn't set_ without asking permission?"

Chie swallowed some more ice cream. Her eyes looked… lost. "I… I dunno. That's just my Pops. He's always been like that."

Realizing she'd taken a step too far, Akane shoved her anger back down. "S-sorry. You can't change who your parents are... We don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

"Thanks, 'Kane." Chie said, immediately looking ten times happier as she shoved a huge scoop of ice cream into her mouth.

After another scoop or three, Akane pressed forward with one more of the many questions swirling around inside her head. "So, _Shampoo_ … She wants to kill half of you, but she wants to marry the other half. And she doesn't seem to know that they're both you? What're you going to do?"

"Uh… I dunno, I was just kinda hopin' she wouldn't find me again."

"Chie, she's literally been to the house you're staying in."

Pouting, Chie said, "Right… Maybe we should move."

Trying not to grow irritated and only partially succeeding, Akane said, "Well, Chie, I don't think that's going to be a very _effective_ long-term strategy."

Chie stared at her spoon, softly twirling it in her fingers. "Maybe… it wouldn't be that bad to marry her?"

Reaching across the table, Akane pulled the remaining ice cream away from Chie, then grabbed her spoon for good measure. "You're _already engaged_ , Saotome. And what about _Kodachi_ , huh?"

Grimacing first when her food was taken and again after Akane's words, Chie's eyes bored holes into the table. "I don't… I don't _know_! It's a lot, an' I'm a 'play it by ear' kinda guy!"

"You're a _girl_ right now!"

"Ugh!" Chie finally looked her in the eyes. "Yeah, _that's_ a whole thing weighin' on my mind too, _thanks 'Kane_!"

"Don't get _sarcastic_ with me! A _bunch_ of these things directly involve _me_ , too! Shampoo's been to _my_ house! Kodachi's still in love with _both_ of us! And _you and I are ENGAGED to each other!_ Are you actually even _interested_ in that!?"

Throwing her hands up, volume rising to meet Akane's, Chie said, " _I DON'T KNOW!_ I don't like bein' _forced_ into this kinda thing! When Pops told me, I was _furious_! But, I mean, if I've gotta be engaged to one'a the three 'a you, you're better than your sisters-"

"Oh, great, _so_ glad you consider me the _least terrible_ option!"

"That's not what I-! Look, _I don't know_ , okay!? What about _you_? Are _you_ interested in this dumb engagement thing!?"

"MAYBE!"

Silence.

The two girls slowly lowered back into the seats that they'd both partially stood up from. They stared at each other, each of them still breathing a little heavy from all the yelling they'd been doing.

"...Maybe?" Chie said, softly.

"Maybe," Akane said, even softer.

Chie's eyes turned to the table again. A moment later, so did Akane's. She scooted Chie's ice cream back over to her, pressing the spoon into a half-melted bit of chocolate. Slowly, Chie grabbed hold of the spoon and brought a bit of ice cream to her mouth.

Once she'd swallowed, Chie's eyes looked up at Akane again. "I, um… might be-"

"We can talk about it later," Akane said, eyes flicking up and then down once more. Her face felt hot, and her glance told her Chie's probably felt the same way.

Nodding a little too quickly, Chie said, "Sure. Yeah."

A few minutes later, Chie's ice cream was gone, and the two girls were finally on their way home. Akane eventually managed to get some small talk going, but both she and Chie stayed _far_ away from the topics that they'd broached back in the parlor.

Today hadn't gone quite like Akane had wanted or expected. She was battered and a little bruised, physically but maybe also a little mentally. And yet… she felt… _lighter_. So maybe the day wasn't a _complete_ bust. As long as Kodachi was fine and Shampoo didn't show up again, maybe it was even… actually pretty okay.

Akane glanced over at Chie again, who was saying something about a martial arts kata she particularly enjoyed. Chie's face was still a little flushed, even though it'd been a bit since they'd left the parlor. It was pretty cute. Akane turned away again, a small smile crossing her face. Yeah, today was pretty okay afterall.


End file.
